Saints

“He wasn’t forcing cultures together with the sword, cannon or musket. He did it with his own spirituality." Fr. Peter Neely, S.J. of the Kino Border Institute

"Pope Francis speaks of the priest as someone who needs to have the smell of the sheep, and that certainly was part of what Father Kino had in mind," Bishop Kicanas said.

For centuries, the Catholic Church has declared many different holy men and women to be saints through the process known as canonization as confessor or martyr. In 2017, Pope Francis introduced a third option, called “offering of life.”

Fr. Eusebio Kino, S.J. defended the desert people, founded 24 missions, many visitas, 19 rancherias, began the cattle industry in Sonora and Arizona. planted fruit trees and introduced new grains to augment the tradition crops of the desert people.

Thousands of saints have been raised to the altars after these thorough investigations, while the causes of many other candidates are usually suspended or closed when there is insufficient evidence of one's sanctity or the lack of miracle. Some are delayed due to proverbial "skeletons in the closet" uncovered during the investigation into their lives.

When Rosie Garcia, a parishioner of St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson, heard the announcement that Pope Francis had formally recognized the heroic virtues of sainthood candidate Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino, she said she cried tears of joy.

Servant of God Eusebio Francesco Chini (known as Kino), an Italian Jesuit priest who was born on August 10, 1645, in Segno, and died in Magdalena, Mexico, on 15 March 1711;

"St. Katharine Drexel used to say, 'We go in to go out,'" said Father Stephen Thorne, pastor of St. Martin de Porres in North Philadelphia. "What she meant was that (our time with) the Blessed Sacrament gives us the energy to go forth and do justice."

"I rely on his intercession in my ministry, and I am inspired by his desire to bring God's tender mercy to every person," the archbishop added.