His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel blessed the reliquary on Thursday, which holds the relics of Saint Maria Brâncoveanu and her sons, Stephen and Matthew.
The blessing service was officiated in the historic Chapel of “Saint George the Trophy-bearer” at the Patriarchal Residence.
An icon of Romanian dignity and spirituality
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel highlighted that Saint Maria Brâncoveanu is one of the most beautiful icons of Romanian dignity and of spirituality.
“She was a faithful wife and a devout, pious, highly responsible and self-sacrificing mother in giving birth to, raising and providing a Christian education for her children. She had four sons and seven daughters, and was therefore a mother who gave birth to 11 children.”
“The Holy Princess Maria Brâncoveanu was not only hardworking and wise, but also extremely generous. She learnt to be temperate and merciful, and very often, with great discretion, performed many acts of charity and helped many people who were in need,” His Beatitude added.
The Patriarch also said that Saint Maria Brâncoveanu was a devout Christian who demonstrated her love for God and the Church by founding places of worship.
In addition to the churches she founded in Romania, “she helped many churches on Mount Athos, in Alexandria and Jerusalem, in those places where Christians were under Ottoman rule”.
An example of martyr-like endurance
The Patriarch of Romania stressed that Saint Maria Brâncoveanu is an example of martyr-like endurance: passing through suffering without losing hope and enduring hardship without falling into despair.
“She suffered greatly and experienced the martyrdom of her husband and sons as a heavy cross, but with hope in God’s help.”
“In the final part of her life, she withdrew to Surpatele Monastery, and from there she would often go to pray before the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God at Dintr-un Lemn Monastery. The route, which she sometimes travelled at night carrying oil lamps, became known as the Lady’s Road or the Road of Tears.”
Local proclamation of canonisation
Saint Maria Brâncoveanu was canonised last year, alongside 15 other Romanian holy women. The local proclamation of her canonisation will be held on Sunday at the New Saint George Church in Bucharest.
When Saint Maria’s relics were exhumed, the relics of her sons, Stephen and Matthew, were also discovered. They were canonised in 1992, together with Saint Constantine Brâncoveanu, their other brothers, and the family’s adviser, Ianache.
Father Emil Nedelea Cărămizaru, the parish priest, who attended the blessing of the reliquary, said that “this is a moment of emotion and spiritual joy for our parish community at kilometre zero”.
The New Saint George Parish in Bucharest commissioned the reliquary, which will hold the holy relics, and the Romanian Patriarchate’s workshops made it.
Photo: Lumina Newspaper / Luigi Ivanciu
