Puerto Rican Among 5 Beatified Catholics
Pope John Paul II beatified five Roman Catholics, including, for the first time, a native of Puerto Rico.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, an office clerk who died in 1963, dedicated his life to the church. Also beatified were Esther Blondin of Quebec, who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Ann in 1850; Caterina Cittadini and Caterina Volpicelli, Italian women who founded religious orders in the 19th century; and Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, bishop of Malaga and Palencia, Spain, who died in 1940. Beatification precedes sainthood.
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