Sunday, November 13: The Beatification
As soon as the basilica opened everybody
ran inside to get a good seat. The Tuareg were applauded
and so were the general and officials of the St. Cyr Military
Academy (where Br. Charles did his training). About 60 of
them came in their uniforms. And about 250 members of Br.
Charles' family were there, including a 2-month-old infant.
Not everybody expected the Pope to make an
appearance, so when he came at the end of Mass to venerate the
relics everyone stood up and cheered him (we learned later that
he asked to keep Br. Charles' relics in his private chapel).
Then, unexpectedly, he came down to greet those seated in
the front row, among them the Tuaregs, who were so moved and
proud to be the first of their tribe to have held the Pope's
hand. It was a historical moment for both. They
were such a sensation that when they came out of St. Peter's
they were swarmed by people who wanted to have their photo
taken with them. Not missing their opportunity, they
handed out tourist brochures of Tamanrasset. They also
danced with a group singing Gospel songs near the obelisk in
the square. You could tell they were relishing it all.
The crowd in St Peter’s Square
where the banners of the newly
beatified hung .
Monday, November 14: The Mass of
Thanksgiving
 | ||
Kathryn Spink, English biographer of l.sr.
Magdeleine and others, did the first reading. The
Gospel was read in Arabic by Archbishop Georges of Mosul, Iraq.
Bishop Rault of the Sahara gave a beautiful homily,
presenting Br. Charles as so human, like us.
At the end of all of this our Tuareg
guests wanted to express their gratitude for the welcome they
had received by cooking an Algerian dish called couscous for
the 250 of us who were still there.
After we enjoyed the meal, they prepared
Algerian tea, as we shared, laughed, sang and danced.
That night, there were no Muslims, Catholics,
Protestants, just brothers and sisters...