VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai was beatified at a Vatican liturgy that recalled her missionary spirit and her self-giving work among leprosy patients in Hawaii. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, presided over the beatification Mass, May 14, in St. Peter’s Basilica. Also beatified was a Spanish nun who founded a missionary religious order. After brief summaries of their lives were read aloud, Cardinal Saraiva Martins read the decree proclaiming the two "blessed." As giant banners with portraits of the newly beatified were unveiled, a wave of applause swept through the basilica. In attendance were more than 100 Catholics from Hawaii and more than 300 from Syracuse, N.Y., where members of Blessed Mother Marianne’s order, the Sisters of St. Francis, have their motherhouse. The Spanish nun beatified was Blessed Florentina Nicol Goni, also known as Mother Ascension del Corazon de Jesus, founder of the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary.

ROME (CNS) — In paying tribute to Pope John Paul II’s efforts on behalf of Catholics in their country, Russian pilgrims also prayed that he would intercede with God so that his successor could make a trip to Russia. Moscow Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, leading the pilgrims to Rome May 16-22, told reporters, "We thanked God for Pope John Paul II, this great pope, and especially for all he did for the Catholics of Russia." The archbishop said that celebrating Mass May 18, near the pope’s tomb "I asked his forgiveness for the times we Catholics were not faithful to his teaching." "His dream was to visit Russia, but he could not," the archbishop said. So now Russian Catholics are praying that "he would help his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, make the trip." Archbishop Kondrusiewicz spoke with reporters May 19, after he met privately with Pope Benedict at the Vatican.

NEW YORK (CNS) — Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York dedicated a Catholic memorial at ground zero May 22 to serve as a complement to the national memorial planned for the site of the World Trade Center destroyed Sept. 11, 2001. St. Joseph’s Chapel, located near ground zero on the ground floor of a seven-story apartment building in lower Manhattan’s Battery Park City, has been renovated and designated as the Catholic memorial. Visitors to ground zero will be able to walk a few steps toward the Hudson River and enter an environment keyed to the same theme but designed to encourage prayer and meditation.

BALTIMORE (CNS) — When she arrived at the federal building in downtown Baltimore, Mercy Sister Aine O’Connor, who is Irish through and through, was nonetheless looking forward to taking the oath of allegiance that is the final act in becoming a U.S. citizen. There was just one thing, though. There was a part of the oath to which the assistant to the president of Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore could not and would not agree. It was the section about swearing to "bear arms" on behalf of the United States when required by law. She said she could not reconcile the call to arms with her religious training, personal belief and her order’s mission "to reverence the dignity of each person and pursue integrity of word and deed in my life." Before she went to the May 4 swearing-in ceremony, she had requested permission to take the oath without the bearing arms requirement. After checking its legality, a federal officer told her that when she took the oath, "you don’t have to say that piece of it."

Grandfather returns to priesthood

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — Father David Gaffny recently concelebrated Mass for the first time in more than 35 years. He did so again a few days later, this time with his daughter, Maria, sitting in one of the pews at St. Joseph Church in Madison, where he currently serves as associate pastor. When Father Gaffny, a father of three, grandfather of six and former Maryknoll priest, lost his wife of 31 years in July 2001, he began to discern what to do with the rest of his life. It was natural for him to return to the full exercise of priestly ministry. After returning to seminary studies for a brief period, he was accepted as a priest for the Nashville Diocese. While he always retained the "indelible mark" of holy orders, Father Gaffny had not acted as a priest since 1969, the year he sought laicization to marry a single mother from Chile.