Gypsy Nears Sainthood In Vatican Ceremony

The first beatification of a Gypsy should help end discrimination against one of Europe’s most marginalized peoples, Vatican officials said Friday.

Pope John Paul II is to beatify Ceferino Jimenez Malla, who was killed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, on Sunday. Beatification is the last step before possible sainthood.

The honor will “contribute to the elimination of injustice and discrimination against our Gypsy brothers,” said Archbishop Giovanni Cheli, head of the Vatican’s department for the care of immigrants.

Roman Catholic church officials have established a camp outside Rome to accommodate many of the 3,000 Gypsies expected to come for the ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.

Jimenez Malla was imprisoned by Spanish Republican forces for defending a priest who had been detained and later executed for his faith.

Republican forces killed many priests because of the church’s alliance with dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, whose nationalist rebellion triggered the 1936-39 civil war.