Pope canonizes 7 new saints, including child martyr

Pope Francis on Sunday canonized six men and a woman, including a child martyr from Mexico and a “gaucho priest” from Argentina, in a mass at St Peter’s Square, Rome.

They all “fought the fight of faith and love,” said Francis in a Sunday mass before tens of thousands of worshippers.

Among the new saints is Jose Sanchez del Rio, a Mexican-born boy, who at 14 was tortured and executed in 1928.

He was executed for refusing to renounce Catholicism under the anti-clerical policies of the Calles Government.

Also canonized is the Dominican priest Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, who, according to Vatican Radio, is a favourite of the current pope.

Known during his lifetime as the “gaucho priest,” Brochero crossed the mountains of Argentina on a mule, helping country people by building churches, schools, roads and water infrastructure.

Rounding out the new saints were also two Italians, two French nationals and a Spaniard.

The sole woman is the French mystic Elisabeth Catez, also known as the Elisabeth of the Trinity.