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Christian Brother who guided church in Madagascar is beatified
09-06-2009
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - An energetic convert to Catholicism who guided the church in Madagascar through extreme difficulties was beatified in the country's capital.
Brother Raffaele Rafiringa, born in the African country in 1856, was declared "blessed" in a ceremony June 7 in Antananarivo by Archbishop Antonio Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.
In an interview with Vatican Radio on June 6, Archbishop Amato traced the remarkable history of Blessed Raffaele who, as a lay Christian Brother, found himself at the helm of the fledgling church organization when the country's ruling family expelled ordained missionaries. During the exile of the priests from 1883-86, Blessed Raffaele's leadership "not only did not damage Catholics, but actually increased their number," Archbishop Amato explained.
When the missionaries were allowed to return, he said, they found a flourishing Catholic network: schools to prepare catechists to teach in the countryside, retreats organized for missionary sisters and excellent schools for children.
On Sundays Blessed Raffaele directed a very well attended Liturgy of the Word, Archbishop Amato said.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20090608.htm
