![]() ![]() ![]() Ten days after their canonization, Gregory likewise canonized St. Philip Neri and the great reformer of religious life and foundress of the Discalced Carmelites, St. Francis Xavier the re-evangelizer of Rome in the 16th century and founder of the Oratorians, St. Paul, the greatest missionary of all time, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits his former college roommate and, after St. Pope Gregory changed that, canonizing at once four great saints of the Counter-Reformation, who were alive over the span of his own life, who not only symbolized what the Church is about but played major roles in helping her turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. In fact, between 14, only three people had been canonized, one at a time. Even though the Council of Trent taught that the example and intercession of the saints was a great help to the faithful, it took 25 years after the close of the Council for anyone to be canonized. Canonizations in this period of history were relatively rare events. We are fast approaching the 400th anniversary of the most impressive canonization in the history of the Church, which took place March 12, 1622. ![]()
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