These seven saints who intercede for us

Editorial Staff

I was very touched by Pope Francis’s apostolic journey to Iraq, by his courage to travel despite concerns about the pandemic and the security, by his words of peace, of reconciliation and hope, by the images of the wonderful places (enchanting and destroyed) and by the melodies that fascinated me. On his return trip the Pope expressed his sentiment of respect for the great Ayatollah Al-Sistani with whom he had met adding that he had found Sistani to be “a great man of wisdom, a man of God”. Then he added: “wise people are everywhere because the wisdom of God is everywhere in the world”. So I asked myself: are Saints only venerated by the Catholic Church or do they also exist (maybe called in different ways) in the tradition of Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism?
F.C.

Saints are venerated by all religions under different names but with the same devotion, respect and gratitude for their teaching and for the example of their lives. The Jewish people venerate the Rabbis who are scholars of the Holy Scriptures. Muslims built special graves on the burial grounds in honour of those who had been spiritual masters to follow the Islamic precepts, especially the Sufis who are very spiritual men and women. Buddhists venerate the Lamas. The Men and women of God of all religions recognize and love each other as Pope Francis and the Great Ayatollah Al-Sistani do. According to a very old tradition in every generation there are seven Saints who hold the world interceding for all mankind to God. Mankind does not know who they are, only God knows their names and their religion. This gives us great hope and it could help us to respect all those who are really looking for God and who support mankind especially in difficult moments.