sainthood causes – Page 4

Blessed Paul VI

After two weeks of meetings on the family and marriage, Pope Francis offered Mass at which he beatified the Venerable Servant of God Pope Paul VI. whom he called a “great Pope,” a “courageous Christian” and a “tireless apostle.”

This action of the Pope’s means that several of the 20th century popes have been raised to the altar: John Paul II, Paul VI, John XXIII, Pius X. We ought to keep in mind that John Paul I and Pius XII have their causes for sainthood being studied, too.

The emeritus pope Benedict XVI was present for the Mass.

Here are the relevant paragraphs of Pope Francis’ homily at Mass that pertain to the beatification:

On this day of the Beatification of Pope Paul VI, I think of the words with which he established the Synod of Bishops: “by carefully surveying the signs of the times, we are making every effort to adapt ways and methods… to the growing needs of our time and the changing conditions of society” (Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio Apostolica Sollicitudo).

When we look to this great Pope, this courageous Christian, this tireless apostle, we cannot but say in the sight of God a word as simple as it is heartfelt and important: thanks! Thanks! Thank you, our dear and beloved Pope Paul VI! Thank you for your humble and prophetic witness of love for Christ and his Church!

In his personal notes, the great helmsman of the Council wrote, at the conclusion of its final session: “Perhaps the Lord has called me and preserved me for this service not because I am particularly fit for it, or so that I can govern and rescue the Church from her present difficulties, but so that I can suffer something for the Church, and in that way it will be clear that he, and no other, is her guide and saviour” (P. Macchi, Paolo VI nella sua parola, Brescia, 2001, pp. 120-121). In this humility the grandeur of Blessed Paul VI shines forth: before the advent of a secularized and hostile society, he could hold fast, with farsightedness and wisdom – and at times alone – to the helm of the barque of Peter, while never losing his joy and his trust in the Lord.

Paul VI truly “rendered to God what is God’s” by devoting his whole life to the “sacred, solemn and grave task of continuing in history and extending on earth the mission of Christ” (Homily for the Rite of Coronation: Insegnamenti I, 1963, p. 26), loving the Church and leading her so that she might be “a loving mother of the whole human family and at the same time the minister of its salvation” (Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam Suam, Prologue).

Servant of God Brother Bernardo Vaz Lobo Teixeira de Vasconcelos

Bernardo Vaz Lobo Teixeira de Vasconcelos was a Benedictine monk, mystic, poet, and authored Cântico de Amor. Studied at the University of Coimbra and there was part of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society which did works of evangelization and charity especially with the poor. Likewise, he was devoted to regular eucharistic adoration. Professionally, he was an editor of the journal which studied democracy.

Bernardo was born in São Romão Corgo (Celorico de Basto), Portugal, on July 7, 1902. He discerned a call to the monastic life and entered the Monastery of Singeverga on 16 August 1924 and professing vows in September 29, 1925. His name in religion was Brother Bernardo da Anunciada. The superior sent him to the Abbey of Mont-César in Beligium to study theology. He was back home in a year’s time due a diagnosis of TB.

Bernardo illness weakened his body and yet he was peaceful and trusting in Divine Providence. The hundredfold was very present in Brother Bernardo’s life. In a letter to a fellow patient Bernardo wrote:

“don’t get delivered to sadness that only serves to disable our best energies … it expands your heart and let him the life-giving Sun of joy. Joy, but with so many ordeals? I’m telling you: who did you see still no cross? The cross follows us wherever we go and we have to take; and, if we don’t want to raise our arms and generously to hugs, I mean: with all the ardor of our hearts-what do we have to take a challenge behind us, the drags.”

Brother Bernardo died in the early hours of July 4, 1932, after a long suffering caused by TB. He is buried in the parish church of São Romão do Corgo

Brother Bernardo Vaz Lobo Teixeira de Vasconcelos is now honored with the title of Servant of God.

In all things may God be glorified.

Blandina Segale to be studied for sainthood

Sister Bladina Segale, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, is now being studied for possible canonization. Segale who died at the tender age of 91 in 1941. The Santa Fe Archbishop Michael Sheehan is handling the cause.

The AP story says Sister Segale “challenged Billy the Kid, calmed angry mobs and helped open New Mexico territory hospitals and schools.”

She is the first from New Mexico to have a cause opened. The Sister of Charity was born in Cicagna, Italy, on January 23, 1850 and died on February 23, 1941. More of what the press is saying about Sister Bladina Segale can be found here.

If you are interested, you may want to find a copy of At the End of the Santa Fe Trail, a book containing the narrative and correspondence of Sister.

Sister Bladina joins a list many US citizens being considered for sainthood. Know, though, it could be several years before the advances since much work has to be organized and sanctity recognized. A Crisis Magazine article on Sister Bladina gives a good sense of who this woman is and her relevance for us today.

Itala Mela: Benedictine Oblate sainthood cause advances

Today, in Rome, the Congregation for Saints proposed to the Holy Father that after study and prayer, the Servant of God Itala Mela, laywoman and Benedictine Oblate of the Abbey of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls (Rome), did indeed, live a life of heroic virtue. Now her cause will study possible miracles attributed to her intercession before the Throne of Grace.

Itala Mela is known as the Mystic of the Holy Trinity. Mela was born to Pasquino and Luigia Bianchini on 24 August 1904 and died 29 April 1957.

Mela was well acquainted with the likes of Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, Blessed Idelfonse Cardinal Schuster, OSB, and Fathers Agostino Gemelli and Divo Barsotti. Schuster was the abbot of St Paul’s before his nomination as the archbishop of Milan.

On 4 January 1933, Itala Mela professed the promises of a Benedictine Oblate of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and on 9 June she made a fourth vow of consecration to the Holy Trinity which she considered as the center of her life and mission in the Church. How providential that this recognition of Mela happens on the weekend in 2014 that we liturgically recall the dogma of the Holy Trinity!

Itala Mela’s cause for sainthood was opened on 21 November 1976 and it has taken until now to advance –in God’s time– as she referred to as the Venerable Servant of God Itala Mela.

Much of Mela’s life is known in Italian, but you may want to look at this website nonetheless.

Father Paolo Molinari dies at 90

If you follow the process of studying candidates for sainthood you will undoubtedly know the name of Father Paolo Molinari, an Italian Jesuit. He was missioned by the Society of Jesus, since 1957, to shepherd various causes for recognition as blesseds and saints. At his death, the Society said it thinks Father Paolo brought more than 46 causes to beatification or canonization which includes more than 150 persons now honored as blessed or saints.

On May 2, 2014, Father Paolo Molnari met the Lord of the Harvest; Father died in Rome.

Father Paolo Molnari is the man who knew lots about saints. He once described saints as “ordinary people living in a way that ordinary people don’t; doing good beyond what good people do.”

Professionally, Father Molinari served as a professor of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and as the president of the Vatican’s College of Postulators; he also advised the Pontiffs on technicalities of the process. Journalists will remember that Molinari was a patient teacher of the Church’s canonization process.

Here is a great–really, exceptional, interview with Father Paolo done by Salt and Light TV (March 27, 2012).

May the Lord receive the soul of Father Paolo by the hands of the saints and blesseds.

Approved miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God Fulton Sheen

March 6, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peoria, IL — The Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, Bishop of Peoria and President of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, received word early Thursday morning that the 7-member board of medical experts who advise the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints at the Vatican unanimously approved a reported miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

The case involved a still born baby born in September 2010. For over an hour the child demonstrated no signs of life as medical professionals attempted every possible life saving procedure, while the child’s parents and loved ones began immediately to seek the intercession of Fulton Sheen. After 61 minutes the baby was restored to full life and three years later demonstrates a full recovery.

Today’s decision affirms that the team of Vatican medical experts can find no natural explanation for the child’s healing. The case will next be reviewed by a board of theologians. With their approval the case could move on to the cardinals and bishops who advise the Pope on these matters. Finally, the miracle would be presented to Pope Francis who would then officially affirm that God performed a miracle through the intercession of Fulton Sheen. There is no timeline as to when these next steps might move forward.

“Today is a significant step in the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of our beloved Fulton Sheen, a priest of Peoria and a Son of the Heartland who went on to change the world. There are many more steps ahead and more prayers are needed. But today is a good reason to rejoice,” commented Bishop Jenky.

Fulton Sheen was born May 8, 1895 in El Paso, IL outside of Peoria. His family moved to Peoria so that Fulton and his brothers could attend Catholic school. He grew up in the parish of the Cathedral of St. Mary where he was an altar server and later ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria. After advanced studies and service as a parish priest in the city of Peoria, Fulton Sheen was a professor of philosophy and religion at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. In the 1930s he became a popular radio personality and later a TV pioneer. His weekly TV program, “Life is Worth Living” eventually reached 30 million viewers and won an Emmy award for outstanding TV program.

From 1950-1966, Bishop Sheen was the national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in the United States, the Church’s primary missionary apostolate. In 1966, he was named Bishop of Rochester of New York where he served until his retirement in 1969, when he was named honorary Archbishop by Pope Paul VI. Fulton Sheen died at the entrance to his private chapel in his New York City apartment on December 9, 1979.

In September 2002, Bishop Jenky officially opened the cause for the beatification and canonization of Fulton Sheen. For six years, the Sheen Foundation, the official promoter of the Cause, gathered testimony from around the world and reviewed all of Sheen’s writings, before sending their conclusions to the Vatican. In June 2012, Pope Benedict affirmed the investigation that Sheen had lived a life of heroic virtue and holiness. Sheen was then titled “Venerable.”

Pending further review by the theologians and the cardinals who advise the Pope through the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, should Pope Francis validate this proposed miracle, Sheen could then be declared “Blessed” in a ceremony that could be celebrated in Peoria, Sheen’s hometown. Upon the Holy Father signing the decree for the beatification, an additional miracle would lead to the Canonization of Archbishop Sheen, in which he would be declared a “Saint.”

For more information about Fulton Sheen and the Cause for his canonization, visit: ArchbishopSheenCause.org.

Matteo Ricci sainthood cause moves ahead

A well-known Jesuit missionary to China’s cause for sainthood was advanced today with the closing of the local phase of study. Matteo Ricci’s cause for sanctity is now moved to the Holy See. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints —the office at the Holy See deputed to study the documentation for those proposed for sainthood— was requested to beatify Italian Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci. Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect, and his staff of scholars and outside experts, will now pour over lots of documentation.

By the time Ricci entered the Society of Jesus in 1571, the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was dead since 1556. The Jesuits gave Ricci an exceptional education in philosophy, theology, mathematics, cosmology, and astronomy. In 1578, his Jesuit superiors missioned Ricci to the East Asian mission, and then in 1580 the Jesuit superior Father Alessandro Valignani sent him to the East Indies the idea of going to China.

The announcement that the diocesan stage was closed was made by the former bishop of the diocese where Matteo Ricci was born. Bishop emeritus Claudio Giuliodori of the Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia and now the General Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, said today as the formal diocesan process closed.

The 16th century Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) was favored by Benedict XVI and he’s been mentioned a few times by Pope Francis as a model for evangelization. Ricci was sent by his Jesuit superiors to Asia, namely China to bring the gospel.

His Holiness notably spoke of Father Ricci in his address with the Jesuits who serve as editors to the well-known journal, La Civiltà earlier in 2013 where he reflected on the notion of seeking God in all things with a particular openness to the truth, goodness and beauty of God.

In November, the Pope said of Ricci: “We must always ask forgiveness and look with shame upon the apostolic failures brought about by a lack of courage. I am thinking, for example, of the pioneering intuitions of Matteo Ricci which, at the time, were abandoned.”

No pontiff, though, has spoken with force about the positive work in evangelization than Pope Benedict XVI. See these previous blog posts here, here AND here.

Father Ricci brought with him his mathematical and astronomical training to China and studied the Chinese language, literature, history, and culture which earned him accolades from the Emperor as a scholar. Ricci faced criticism from European Jesuit and Church superiors for what was perceived as a deviation in standard modalities of evangelization.

Sainthood Cause of the Martyrs of Algeria, opened

The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (the Trappists) announced that,

On October 7, Archbishop Bader of Algiers, with the agreement of the Abbot General and his Council, appointed Father Thomas Georgeon, monk of La Trappe and present Secretary of the Abbot General, as postulator of the cause of Archbishop Claverie and his 18 companions (among them our 7 brothers of Tibhirine). The appointment was approved by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on October 11, 2013.

The 7 monks of the Monastery of Notre-Dame de l’Atlas were killed 26/27 March 1996. The Atlas Martyrs:

Dom Christian (de Chergé) – prior of the community
Brother Luc (Paul Dochier)
Father Christophe (Lebreton)
Brother Michel (Fleury)
Father Célestin (Ringeard)
Father Bruno (born Christian Lemarchand)
Brother Paul (Favre-Miville).

A 2010 film on the monks was released, “Of God and Men” which was well-received.

You may want to read Christian Salenson’s Christian de Chergé: A Theology of Hope (Cistercian Publications, 2012).

Mother Celestine Bottego moved closer to beatification

Pope Francis accepted the findings of the Congregation of Saints today that Mother Celestine Bottego lived a life of heroic virtue. She is now given the title of Venerable Servant of God. Mother Celestine was founder of the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary, was born on 20 December 1895, in Glendale, Ohio. She lived in Butte, Montana until she was almost 15, when she then moved with her mother to Italy.

Bottego was teaching English at a school of the Xaverian Fathers; One priest, Father Giacomo Spagnolo, asked her to consider forming a women’s branch of the order. Her discernment led her to form the congregation in 1944. She died in Italy in 1980 at the age of 84. A miracle attributed to Mother Celestine’s intercession still is needed before she can be beatified. She would add brilliantly to the constellation of US saints and blesseds.

Cora Evans may be an American saint

The cause for sainthood has been opened for Cora Evans, a Catholic convert from Mormonism and since March 2012 bears the title of Servant of God. Cora Evans died in 1957. Cora Evans is unknown to most of the Catholics in the USA but is recalled as holy, humble housewife.

The story of Evans’ sainthood study is written by Mark Emmons in San Jose, CA.

The importance of a person like Cora Evans for us today is that she wasn’t a religious or a cleric but “…some who lived an ordinary life, was a good person, and should be imitated by living our lives in a prayerful way,” said her postulator, Father Joseph Grimaldi. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI advocated the search for examples among the laity for saintliness. It is said that Evans experienced the mystery of the stigmata.