五位佐治亚殉道者在萨凡纳宣福：近万名信徒齐聚、为教区史上最大规模天主教集会
佐治亚州查塔姆县萨凡纳市，萨凡纳教区10月31日在萨凡纳会展中心举行五位佐治亚殉道者宣福仪式，纪念五位1597年在佐治亚海岸遇难的西班牙方济各会传教士。
仪式由多伦多总教区枢机弗兰克·利奥主持，预计近万名信徒到场，是萨凡纳教区自1850年成立以来规模最大的天主教集会，约30位主教出席。五位传教士于1595年抵达佐治亚海岸，1597年9月遇难，教宗方济各于2025年1月确认他们的殉道身份。
萨凡纳教区介绍，佐治亚殖民地1733年的原始特许状曾禁止天主教，直到1789年美国宪法通过后天主教才获得允许，此次宣福对当地天主教群体具有特殊意义。仪式当天上午8时开门，仪式上揭幕一幅新绘制的宣福者画像，现场还设有展览，介绍当年生活在萨凡纳至阿尔塔马哈河之间海岸地区的瓜勒原住民。弥撒通过教区网站和宗教电视台直播；萨凡纳市中心与会展中心之间的渡轮约每20分钟一班，为参加仪式的信徒提供交通便利。
Five Georgia Martyrs Beatified in Savannah Before Nearly 10,000 Faithful
In Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, the Diocese of Savannah held the beatification of the five Georgia Martyrs at the Savannah Convention Center on October 31, honoring five Spanish Franciscan friars killed on the Georgia coast in 1597.
The ceremony was presided over by Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto and was expected to draw close to 10,000 faithful — the largest gathering of Catholics in the history of the Diocese of Savannah, founded in 1850 — with about 30 bishops in attendance. The five friars arrived on the Georgia coast in 1595 and were killed in September 1597; Pope Francis confirmed their martyrdom in January 2025.
The diocese notes that Georgia's original 1733 colonial charter forbade Catholicism, which was not allowed until the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1789, giving the beatification special meaning for local Catholics. Doors opened at 8 a.m.; a newly painted image of the blesseds was unveiled during the rite, and an exhibit introduced the Guale people who once lived along the coast between Savannah and the Altamaha River. The Mass was livestreamed on the diocesan website and religious television, and ferries ran about every 20 minutes between downtown Savannah and the convention center for attendees.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：萨凡纳会展中心与萨凡纳河。Michael Rivera摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / The Savannah Convention Center and the Savannah River. Photo by Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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