19th-Century Savior of Madagascar’s Catholics Beatified by Visiting Pope

Pope John Paul II on Sunday beatified a 19th-Century woman who protected the Roman Catholic Church from persecution, lauding her as a model for women and lay people.

The Pope, on the third day of his visit to this African island nation, beatified Victoire Rasoamanarivo in a three-hour service before a crowd estimated by local organizers at 500,000--about half the capital’s population.

Beatification is the first step toward possible sainthood.

Rasoamanarivo, who died in 1894 at 46, is considered the savior of the Catholic Church in this nation of 11 million people, 22% of whom are Catholic.

The granddaughter of a prime minister, she converted to the faith at 13, to the consternation of her pagan parents.

When Catholic missionaries were expelled from Madagascar in 1883, she fought to keep Catholic schools open, traveled the countryside to encourage the faithful and appealed to the royal family to respect religious rights.

When missionaries were allowed to return in 1886, they found the church still thriving.

“Those few years of service left a reminder that is still very much alive,” said the pontiff, speaking in French. “She is a model for the lay faithful today.”

The Pope cited her work with the poor, the sick and prisoners and held her up as an example for women in the church.

He also hailed the “courageous fidelity Victoire showed the sacrament of marriage despite the problems of her marriage.”

Her husband, Radriaka, son of the prime minister, was a notorious drinker and womanizer. But before dying, after falling off a balcony in the 18th year of their marriage, he accepted his wife’s plea to be baptized, church officials said.

The Pope, on his fifth tour of Africa, leaves today for the French island of Reunion, then visits Zambia and Malawi.