Pope says saints encourage Catholics to follow in their footsteps

Published: 2006-11-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The saints of the Catholic Church are a source of inspiration, encouraging the faithful to follow in their footsteps and experience true happiness found with God's love, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Saints are for us friends and role models of life," the pope said Nov. 1, All Saints' Day. Together with Christ, they point people toward God and his divine plan, showing them how to "experience the joy of someone who trusts in God because the one real cause of sadness and unhappiness for humanity is to live apart from him," the pope said. During a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope said God wants all his children to strive for holiness and that "it is possible for everyone because (holiness) is above all a gift of God more than an accomplishment of mankind." The community of saints, the pope said, is "not a small elite caste, but an infinite multitude" of people including anonymous, unknown Christians who "tried with love and fidelity to carry out God's will."

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