Recently in Sainthood causes Category

English: US President George W. Bush and his w...
In a meeting with Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for Saints this morning in Rome, Pope Francis was presented with causes of several persons being studied for beatification and sainthood.

A special Consistory of Cardinals has been called to discuss the proposed canonizations. Notably, the cardinals will discuss the canonizations of Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII.

In today's Ordinary Consistory of Cardinals and Bishops of the Congregation for Saints, Pope Francis received the favorable votes for both popes canonization. John XXIII, though without the usual required second miracle. Moreover of note, the Prelates favorably voted on the beatification of Bishop Álvaro del Portillo, the successor of Saint Josémaría Escriva. The former Prelate of Opus Dei died in 1994. The Venerable Servant of God was in his early life as a priest a significant contributor of the work of the Second Vatican Council. Several of recognitions of sanctity were made.

The dares for the special Consistory and canonizations has not yet been set, and the canonization is expected to happen by year's end.
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Today's the anniversary of death (1937) of the Venerable Servant of God Antonietta Meo. She is known by many in Rome as Nennolina. Meo is a six year old candidate for sainthood, indeed a very young girl apparently was in love with Jesus and united her suffering (from cancer) to that of the Lord's.


Actually I had forgotten about Nennolina's anniversary until I saw it noted on a "friend's page" on Facebook.


When I lived for a month with the Cistercians at Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme I came to know about this young sainthood candidate. I seem to recall that a family in Michigan and in Indiana was attributing a miracle through Meo's intercession. Since I've not been following the cause, I don't the state of her sainthood process except that Benedict XVI recognized her heroic virtues in 2007.


Antonietta Meo was a student of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome.


Nennolina is buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, the same place where the relics of the Holy Passion are located. She was baptized in this church and spent time in prayer there.


Read her letters.

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English: Pope John Paul II on 12 August 1993 i...
Several weeks ago word was received that the theologians approved of the findings they were presented on a miracle studied to support Blessed John Paul's cause of canonization. A second miracle is required for the canonization process to certify that the person being presented for canonization is authentic; the person doesn't create the miracle but it is through that person's intercession before God asking Him for the favor.

It is said that this second miracle happen on the night John Paul was beatified. A Costa Rican woman is the subject of the healing. John Paul II died in 2005 and was beatified on 1 May 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.

The full meeting of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints met today and likewise approved the report on the second miracle. The Congregation under the leadership of Cardinal Angelo Amato will now write a report and submit it to the Roman Pontiff for his decision.

It is speculated at by December Blessed John Paul could be sainted. Some are also speculating that Blessed John XXIII could be sainted, too.
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Dorothy Day 2.jpgI don't hide the fact that I believe Dorothy Day is a very reasonable and attractive candidate for the Church to canonize. Following John Paul's insistence, we need more contemporary saints from among the laity. Several times in the past years I have posted articles on Dorothy Day (+1980) and I am happy to do so again today. My enthusiasm has less to do with Day's social activism --even though at one time the Catholic Worker Houses were more Catholic and Benedictine-like-- as it does with her accepting the truth of Jesus Christ as Messiah, her eventual conversion to Catholicism and her being a Benedictine Oblate.

Oblation as a lay woman she was first connected with the Benedictine monks of Portsmouth Abbey before she moved her Oblation to St Procopius Abbey (outside Chicago). However, there is a difference of opinion on where Day's Oblation was first offered, Portsmouth or Procopius. The historians are doing some fact checking.

Personally, I have been anxious for the Benedictines and the officials of Day's sainthood cause in the Archdiocese of New York to talk about the relevance of Day's Benedictine connection and to propose it for the laity's consideration to follow. Hopes have been fulfilled with St Procopius Abbey Abbot Austin Murphy's posting of the Oblate Dorothy Day on their web site.

More on the Dorothy Day-St Procopius connection and the prayer for her canonization is noted here.
MRicci.jpgA while ago I mentioned the sainthood study of the 17th century Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci being opened by Diocese of Macerata. The diocesan phase officially closed on May 10th and the findings were sent to the Congregation for Saints at the Holy See.

Father Matteo Ricci was born in the Diocese of Macerata in 1552 and died in Bejing on May 11, 1610. Initially, the cause was opened in 1984 but closed shortly thereafter. But in 2010 fresh eyes and reasonable interested were opened.

This is a unique event given that a prominent Jesuit cause for sainthood is given to a Jesuit Pope. As Bishop Giuliodori related concerning his visit to the Pope, "I never imagined I'd be able to speak about the cause of Father Matteo Ricci with a Jesuit pope. After the great attention given by Benedict XVI, who never missed an occasion to encourage us to promote the cause, we now have the joy of placing it into the hands of a Jesuit." It was Pope Benedict's interest in this cause that is striking. He said, in part, that with Father Ricci we have a "fortunate synthesis of proclaiming the Gospel and of dialogue with the culture of the people who are receiving it, an example of balance between doctrinal clarity and prudent pastoral action.

Besides Ricci's reputed sanctity, he is known for an "innovative method of evangelization based on the inculturation of the faith." His heroic virtues include humility and courage. Others have derided Ricci for being too cozy with Confucian practices that may be incompatible with Christianity.

Ricci was a missionary to China to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing more. Hence, in Ricci we have a model of evangelization and faith formation that is based on reason: dialogue with the culture, balance, doctrinal clarity and prudent pastoral action.
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In the days leading up to the great feast of Pentecost which we celebrate next week, it seems right that we look to what we know and believe about the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate sent to us by the Trinity. 


We need to work in a concerted way to educate our religious sense on the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were given in the sacraments of Initiation. The Holy Spirit is not talked about too often in the teaching of the faith and you rarely hear of the Spirit in homilies. I would love to see a parish provide as part of their formation of adults an in-depth course on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

It is noted by many that we lack a firm grasp of how the Holy Spirit leads and guides each one of us, and how the Spirit is the agent in the sacred Liturgy (Mass and the Divine Office). The Paulist Fathers' evangelization work has mentioned recently that "Until we appropriate the Holy Spirit more fully in our Catholic consciousness, we will not have the spirituality to do the reaching out, welcoming, inviting, and sharing that are essential parts of our Catholic life and mission. Father Isaac Hecker, Servant of God, founded the Paulist Fathers will a strong spirituality of the Holy Spirit. Part of his cause for canonization might well include a greater awareness of the Spirit in our American/Canadian Catholic lives."


Father Isaac Hecker is one of America's priests who took evangelization and adult faith formation seriously. Let's take inspiration from him.

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Having died in 2005, beatified on 1 May 2011, John Paul II may well be a saint later in 2013. Some are speculating that he may be canonized in October. A group medical professionals have recognized miracle of healing at Blessed John Paul's intercession as inexplicable.


Now the presumed miracle needs the approval  of the theologians and then  approval of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation of Saints before the dossier is presented to Pope Francis' fiat. If all goes well, John Paul would be one of very few fast-tracked saints in the modern era: only eight years after death.


Blessed John Paul's feast day is October 22.


Blessed John Paul served as the Roman Pontiff from 1978-2005.

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            The process of becoming a saint, if you are not a John Paul II or a Mother Terese can take some time. When I heard the news of the completion of US side of Rose Hawthorne's cause for canonization was made, the other day from a Dominican priest friend, a "praise God" rang out! The last significant ecclesial judgement made on the sanctity of Rose Hawthorne was in 2003 when she was declared to be a Servant of God.


Servant of God Rose Hawthorne (1851-1926), was founder of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, led unusual life as a wife, mother, and convert. Rose was born in Lenox, MA, and died in Hawthorne, NY. In religion she is known as Mother Mary Alphonsa, OP. Rose worked to comfort the poor dying of cancer. The diocesan phase for cause of canonization was opened by Cardinal Edward Michael Egan. Rose Hawthorne was declared Servant of God on February 4, 2003. Father Gabriel B. O'Donnell, OP, is the postulator. On 9 April, the necessary documentation signed by the archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan. On 20 April 2013 Father O'Donnell will be delivering this phase concerning Rose' heroic virtue and the writing of the historical report to Rome's Congregation of Saints.  For more info: www.hawthorne-dominicans.org


The Catholic New York reports the story.


Hawthorne is one 10 people with connections in the State of New York who are being considered for sainthood.

The events of March we have missed yet another fruit of America's holiness when the revered founder of Boys Town, Father Edward Flanagan's cause for canonization was opened in Omaha, NE, and declared a Servant of God.

Fr Flanagan with kids.jpgServant of God Father Edward Flanagan (1886-1948) was a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, on July 13, 1886  he was born the 8th of 11 children of John and Nora Flanagan. In 1904, he came to the United States. Flanagan first studied for the priesthood at  Dunwoodie Seminary with the intention of being a priest of the Archdiocese of New York; illness prevented his further studies and he eventually moved with his family to Omaha. There he was accepted as a seminarian and sent to Rome's Capranica College, with classes at the Gregorian University but finished his studies in Innsbruck's Royal Imperial Leopold Francis University. Flanagan's ordination to the priesthood happened on July 26, 1912 and he offered his first Mass in St. Ignatius Church, Innsbruck, Austria. He was a priest for the Diocese of Omaha. Father Flanagan was assigned Saint Patrick's Church, O'Neill, NE. In March 1913, he was appointed Assistant Pastor to Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Omaha. His natural qualities of generosity to the poor and marginalized and prayer were made manifest.

With the permission of Bishop Jeremiah Harty, on December 12, 1917, Father Flanagan opened his first Boys' Home in a run-down Victorian mansion in downtown Omaha. In his lifetime Father Flanagan helped more than 6,000 boys. During a tour of Europe, he fell ill and died of a heart attack in Berlin, Germany, on May 15, 1948. At the request of the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion (FFLSD), Archbishop George Lucas, of the Archdiocese of Omaha has accepted responsibility for the beatification process. On March 17, 2012, Lucas formally opened the cause of canonization at a service of prayer at Immaculate Conception Church (Boys Town), bestowing the title of "Servant of God" upon Father Flanagan. Dr. Andrei Ambrosi is the Postulator for the cause. 

More information may be read here.

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Father Joseph Walijewski (1924-2006), a missionary to Latin America, is now part of a long list of Americans who are being studied by the Church for possible sainthood.


Father Walijewski's cause for beatification opened by Bishop William P. Callahan, bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, WI, March 19, 2013. Dr. Andrea Ambrosi will be the postulator. Walijewski was born to poor Polish immigrant parents in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 15, 1924; ordained priest for the Diocese of La Crosse in April 1950; and began missionary work in Bolivia in 1956; he died on April 11, 2006, suffering pneumonia and acute leukemia. Father Joseph also served in Ecuador and Peru. While in Peru, he helped organize breakfast stations that fed 8,000 children per day where he founded in 1987 the Lima orphanage Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II, the House of John Paul II.

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The Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world.



Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated 33 years ago today, offering Mass in San Salvador.


Archbishop Romero is remembered as a Church leader of hope in a country that was ravaged by poverty, injustice and oppression.


In the face of incredible injustice, the Archbishop knew the Church to be a beacon of faith, hope and charity, recognized his responsibility to be a witness to these virtues and to challenge the oppressors, especially those who claimed to be Catholic. Romero's cause for canonization is being studied.

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Walter Ciszek.jpgFather Walter Ciszek (1904-84) is likely to be one the 20th century's finest American priests --ever. If you don't believe me read John Levko's "Chained, but Free: How Walter Ciszek gained spiritual liberation in Lubyanka prison." 

If you still don't believe my assertion, read Ciszek's With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me. Still lacking the same conviction that I have proposed, then you are hopeless. Father Walter Ciszek is not great because he survived 23 years of Soviet prison life; he's the finest American priest's of the 20th century because he allowed God to use his humanity and the Soviet prison to point to someone greater: Jesus Christ.

The Levko piece is a terrific testament to a life completely in communion with God. The article is too complicated to be digested here so you'll have to read it for yourself. Enjoy it, but spend some time thinking and praying about what you've read.

You can read Father Jim Martin's piece on Father Ciszek here.

Rome Reports, a work of a group of laity covering news items concerning the Catholic Church particularly in Rome (the bulk of their reporting) but the reporters also cover other stories of interest to the Christian world. 

As you know I am hoping with eagerness for positive news on the studies related to the cause for canonization of the Servant of God Dorothy Day. Rome Reports did a news piece today: "Dorothy Day: former atheist and social advocate journalist, on the way to sainthood."


English: President John F.Kennedy visits Pope ...

US President John F.Kennedy visits Pope Paul VI.

The Prefect of the Congregation for Saints, Angelo Cardinal Amato, SDB, in the course of an audience with His Holiness today, received permission to promulgate a decree certifying those whose causes have been studied and have reached a particular place in the ongoing work of judging who are candidates as saints. There is a human process in "saint-making" but true be told, ONLY God makes saints.

Notable on the list moving ahead is the Servant of God Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) who died on August 6, 1978. 

Montini of Milan was the 261st pontiff taking the name "Paul VI" and followed John XXIII (now a Blessed) and was before John Paul I (who's cause for sainthood is also being studied). Paul is among with many others on the move.The list presented to Pope Benedict today is here.

Who was Pope Paul VI? Vatican Radio's Veronica Scarisbrick helps to answer the question.

Pope Paul there are three new saints and many others who now move up the proverbial ladder. The pope is now referred to as the Venerable Servant of God Pope Paul VI.
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Day's Funeral procession.jpgToday is the 32nd anniversary of death of the Servant of God Dorothy Day. The Benedictine Oblate from Brooklyn Heights, NY, who is remembered for her conversion to Christ and His Church and with Peter Maurin founded The Catholic Worker Movement.

In recent days we've learned that the bishops of the USA are standing behind Day's cause for canonization advancing it to the next canonical stage. While the process may be protracted for some, it is a good and substantial process to ascertain the claim of sanctity of the person in question. As an editorial, I tend to think 30 years is a good amount of time between the death of a person and the study process commencing; in my humble opinion I think it was far too short of time for Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II beatifications; both are saints in my opinion, but I think the process can't be shortchanged because of cosmic popularity.

Day was a Benedictine Oblate of St Procopius Abbey.

The Archdiocese of New York is in charge of the cause of canonization. You can contact the office at 212-371-1000, ext. 2474.

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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