On Aug. 26, the Church celebrates the memory of St. Mariam of Jesus Crucified, who was born in the Holy Land, in Ibillin, Upper Galilee, and died in Bethlehem in 1878 of gangrene. Her relics are kept in the church of the Carmel Monastery where she lived, now a pilgrimage destination for Christians and Muslims alike. Mariam Baouardy, born into a Greek Melkite Catholic family, attended St. George's Church, which overlooks the town. The places where she lived are preserved with great respect by local residents. LAFE KHOURY Melkite deacon of Ibillin "In this church she was baptized, nine days after her birth, and here she made her first communion. She was very insistent with her priest that she could make her first communion right away. She always had great devotion to the Eucharist. She was a young woman, later to become a saint, who knew how to listen to God's voice; she was a woman with great discernment, something that is very lacking in our times." The ruins of her birthplace can still be seen today: the stones and remains of the walls are from her time. The accounts in the books of pilgrims visiting this place are very moving. Next to these ruins one can visit a memorial, a 200-year-old stone house, a reminder of a simple life surrendered to God's love. Fr SÓSTENES MONTE Canção Nova Community "In order for the Church to canonize a saint it is made necessary to recognize in his life some virtues and heroic virtues, and in the life of St. Mariam Baouardy there are many. The first is humility, moreover she preferred to be called 'little nothing.' And how not to mention chastity and her purity." During the Canonization on May 17, 2015, Pope Francis emphasized St. Mariam's path of poverty, chastity and obedience. A humble and unlettered Carmelite, she was docile to the Holy Spirit who also made her an instrument of encounter and communion with the Muslim world. Local Christians see Mariam Baouardy as a role model and inspiration. The Angelus prayer being broadcast over the parish's loudspeakers is an invitation to locals to pray-as the saint asked-an invitation to look up amid the turmoil of life. MAYSON ZAHRAN Local Christian "I am very happy to live in this village because this is where our saint lived. God looked here and from here He took a great woman, humble, full of charity and love. I ask God, through her intercession, to grant peace to the world and to strengthen charity in all of us. I ask for the intercession of St. Mariam of Jesus Crucified for these difficult times. I ask that we too may love Jesus as she loved him." Read More