SOUTH of the BORDER SAINT

Another North American added to the roster of "saints to be" this year is VENERABLE MOSES LIRA SERAFIN of MEXICO who was born in Tlatempa, municipality of Zacatlán Puebla on September 16, 1893 and died in Mexico City on June 25, 1950.

He is the founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity of Mary Immaculate. When he was five his mother died, which would mark his life. His father was a teacher and traveled a lot, forcing the family to moved regularly as the job required it, which contributed to Moses' restlessness.

Moses studied at the Seminary of Puebla and later in 1912 he entered the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit being invited personally by the founder of the Congregation, where he became the first novice. He was ordained on May 14, 1922. He lived through part of the religious persecution in Mexico, which did not prevent his apostolic zeal from ministering to his people. He visited the sick in hospitals and in prisons he would bring the Eucharist. He was friend and protector of children and all those who were suffering. In all he did he was generous and courageous, risking imprisonment, banishment, and even death.

He moved to Rome where he lived until 1928. On March 29, 1934 he founded the Congregation of Missionaries of Charity of Mary Immaculate, with the mission to help all men to live as beloved children of God: to serve the Church in the sick and the elders who were lacking Christian formation and education.