Pope Benedict XVI canonizes first Brazilian saint

11 May, 2007 20:53 / Updated 5 years ago

In Brazil, up to one million people have gathered to see Pope Benedict XVI canonize the country's first home-grown saint. The canonization Mass was held on the Campo de Marte military airfield on the edge of Sao Paulo.

    Friar Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao, a Franciscan monk who died in 1832, was famed for distributing pills that are said to have miraculously cured diseases.   The Pope is on an official visit to Brazil – the world's most populous Catholic country with around 120 million believers.