(January 21, 2010) On Wednesday before beginning the general audience, Pope Benedict
XVI blessed a statue of a Spanish saint and founder, unveiled at the Vatican outside
of St. Peter's Basilica. The 6-meter (20-foot) statue depicts the twentieth century
Saint Rafaela María Porras y Ayllón, canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977. The Spanish
religious founded the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart, an institute dedicated to education
and the Eucharist. Hence, the statute depicts a young girl at the foot of the saint.
The marble statue was created by Marco Augusto Dueñas. The Spanish and Japanese ambassadors
to the Holy See were present at the unveiling, as was the superior-general of the
Handmaids, Mother Mitsuyo Fukusawa. Some 50 family members of the saint were also
there, as were the mayor and citizens of Pedro Abad in Cordoba, where Rafaela was
born. At the end of the general audience, the Pope gave a special greeting to the
delegation -- some 450 people -- encouraging them to be "witnesses of the merciful
love of God." The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart have some 1,300 women religious active
in more than 20 countries.