ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — A cardinal dispatched by the Vatican to Algeria held an unusual beatification ceremony on Saturday for 19 monks, nuns and other Catholics who were killed during Algeria's civil war in the 1990s.
It was the first such ceremony in the Muslim world, according to Algeria's religious
affairs minister. It came after Pope Francis recognized all 19 as martyrs in January, paving the way for Saturday's ceremony in the western Algerian city of Oran. Beatification is a step in the process of being declared a saint.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, celebrated Saturday's Mass at the Notre Dame de Santa Cruz basilica as the pope's special envoy.
Those honored included seven French Trappist monks who were abducted from the monastery of Tibhirine, south of Algiers, in 1996. Soon afterward, their skulls were discovered nearby; their bodies were never found. A radical group was blamed for their beheadings, but some observers have suggested Algeria's military was responsible.
The Algerian president agreed to allow and co-organize the beatification events in Algeria, despite some lingering tensions over the deaths. Algeria's religious affairs minister, ambassadors from several countries and other foreign dignitaries attended the event.
