Canonization of blesseds Vincenzo Grossi, Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Louis Martin and Marie-Azelie Guerin

From today's edition of Vatican Information Service:--

Vatican City, 17 June 2015 (VIS) – On Saturday 27 June, in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father will preside at the celebration of Terce and the ordinary public consistory for the canonisation of the blesseds Vincenzo Grossi, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Institute of Daughters of the Oratory (1845-1917); Mary of the Immaculate Conception (nee Maria Isabel Salvat Romero), Spanish superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross (1926-1998); and the French spouses Louis Martin (1823-1894) and Marie-Azelie Guerin (1831-1877), parents of St. Therese of Lisieux.

 

Saints!

WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS.
27.IV.2014

We are all called to be saints. These two popes have offered us exemplars in our contemporary world of sainthood lived.

Pope Saint John XXIII, pray for us!
Pope Saint John Paul II, pray for us!

IMAGE: By Marco Foppoli.

Saint Peter Faber

 From CNA/EWTN News:

VATICAN CITY, 17 DECEMBER 2013. Pope Francis recognized the sainthood of early Jesuit Peter Faber on Dec. 17 after holding a private audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The decision, “enrolling in the catalogue of Saints” one of the co-founders of the Society of Jesus, was announced through the Holy See press office. The announcement said the Pope had “extended to the Universal Church the liturgical cult in honor of Blessed Peter Faber.”

It was also announced that Pope Francis had authorized the congregation to acknowledge a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Maria Teresa Demjanovich, a sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, from New Jersey who died in 1927; the heroic virtues of Emmanuel Herranz Estables, a Spanish priest who died in 1968; and the heroic virtues of Giorgio Ciesielski, a Polish layman and father who died in 1970.

The means of St. Peter Faber's canonization is equivalent to that of St. Angela of Foligno, whom Pope Francis canonized Oct. 9. According Italian publication La Stampa, St. Angela's canonization diverged from the normal process involving the recognition of a second miracle attributed to the saint's intercession.

Such a canonization is done “when such a saint has been from a remote period the object of veneration, when his heroic virtues (or martyrdom) and miracles are related by reliable historians, and the fame of his miraculous intercession is uninterrupted,” La Stampa wrote.

St. Peter Faber was born in 1506, and studied at the University of Paris, where he met St. Ignatius Loyola and St Francis Xavier; the three went on to become the founders of the Society of Jesus. St. Peter Faber was ordained a priest in 1534, and served across Europe.

He died in 1546, and his relics are kept at the Church of the Gesu, the Jesuits' mother church in Rome. His feast has been kept Aug. 2, the anniversary of his death, by the Society of Jesus, and he was beatified in 1872 by Pius IX.

Pope Francis has referred to the new saint at least twice in his pontificate, both in his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii gaudium” and in his Sept. 30 interview with Jesuit publications.

In “Evangelii gaudium,” Pope Francis quoted the saint as saying “time is God's messenger,” making a point about the need for patience, an ability to listen, and docility to the Holy Spirit, in the process of drawing others closer to God.

In his Sept. 30 interview, the Pope cited St. Peter Faber as a Jesuit who had particularly affected him, saying he was moved by the priest's “dialogue with all, even the most remote and even with his opponents; his simple piety, a certain naïveté perhaps, his being available straightaway, his careful interior discernment, the fact that he was a man capable of great and strong decisions but also capable of being so gentle and loving.”

Saints Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II

Yesterday, 5 JULY 2013, amid a number of other significant events at the Vatican, Holy Father Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect for the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, and authorized the Church's recognition of two of our Blessed Holy Fathers as Saints of the heavenly realm: Saint Pope John XXIII and Saint Pope John Paul II.

The faithful have yearned for the recognition of the great Pope John Paul II as a saint in the heavenly homeland since his death in 2005. Now, traveling forward only eight years through a process that can sometimes take a century or better, the Holy Father has confirmed a second miracle attributed the intercession of Blessed Pope John Paul II and approved the promulgation of the decree of his canonization. The Holy Father also yesterday convoked a special consistory of the College of Cardinals to discuss in depth the canonization of the great Pope.

Oft referred to as the Good Pope John, yesterday also saw the somewhat unusual movement of Pope John XIII from the ranks of Blessed to the altars of sainthood following Holy Father Pope Francis' approval the favorable votes of the Ordinary Session of the Congregations of Cardinals and Bishops regarding his cause for canonization. The Vatican spokesman, Father Lombardi, S.J., said yesterday that despite the absence of a second miracle that has been confirmed by the Church as attributable to Blessed Pope John XXIII's intercession, it was the will of Pope Francis that the "Sainthood of the great Pope of the Second Vatican Council be recognized."

Father Lombardi continued, noting that a canonization without a second confirmed miracle is nonetheless valid and that there is already an existing confirmed miracle that led to the Good Pope's beatification. Certainly, Father Lombardi added, the Holy Father has the power to dispense the requirement for a second miracle.

However, no dates were given yesterday, neither of the special consistory nor the canonizations of the two beloved predecessors of Pope Francis. However, Father Lombardi did not rule out that the canonizations of the both Popes would be held together, and he did express his opinion that they would take place before the end of 2013. Any date will be set during the special consistory, which will likely be held this Fall.

A nod of thanks, too, to Father Z, for his insightful thoughts here on the announcement of the canonization of these two great Pontiffs together and during this 50th anniversary year of Vatican Council II.

Seven New Saints Today!

21 OCTOBER 2012. Today in the Eternal City the Church received seven new saints. From Zenit, here is the Holy Father's homily:

Dear Brother Bishops,

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today the Church listens again to these words of Jesus, spoken by the Lord during his journey to Jerusalem, where he was to accomplish the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection. They are words which enshrine the meaning of Christ’s mission on earth, marked by his sacrifice, by his total self-giving. On this third Sunday of October, on which we celebrate World Mission Sunday, the Church listens to them with special attention and renews her conviction that she should always be fully dedicated to serve mankind and the Gospel, after the example of the One who gave himself up even to the sacrifice of his life.

I extend warm greetings to all of you who fill Saint Peter’s Square, especially the official delegations and the pilgrims who have come to celebrate the seven new saints. I greet with affection the Cardinals and Bishops who, during these days, are taking part in the Synodal Assembly on the New Evangelization. The coincidence between this ecclesiastical meeting and World Mission Sunday is a happy one; and the word of God that we have listened to sheds light on both subjects. It shows how to be evangelizers, called to bear witness and to proclaim the Christian message, configuring ourselves to Christ and following his same way of life. This is true both for the mission ad Gentes and for the new evangelization in places with ancient Christian roots.

The Son of Man came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (cf. Mk 10:45)

These words were the blueprint for living of the seven Blessed men and women that the Church solemnly enrols this morning in the glorious ranks of the saints. With heroic courage they spent their lives in total consecration to the Lord and in the generous service of their brethren. They are sons and daughters of the Church who chose a life of service following the Lord. Holiness always rises up in the Church from the well-spring of the mystery of redemption, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading: the Servant of the Lord is the righteous one who "shall make many to be accounted as righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities" (Is 53:11); this Servant is Jesus Christ, crucified, risen and living in glory. Today’s canonization is an eloquent confirmation of this mysterious saving reality. The tenacious profession of faith of these seven generous disciples of Christ, their configuration to the Son of Man shines out brightly today in the whole Church.

[in French] Jacques Berthieu, born in 1838 in France, was passionate about Jesus Christ at an early age. During his parish ministry, he had the burning desire to save souls. Becoming a Jesuit, he wished to journey through the world for the glory of God. A tireless pastor on the island of Sainte Marie, then in Madagascar, he struggled against injustice while bringing succour to the poor and sick. The Malagasies thought of him as a priest come down from heaven, saying, You are our "father and mother!" He made himself all things to all men, drawing from prayer and his love of the sacred heart of Jesus the human and priestly force to face martyrdom in 1896. He died, saying "I prefer to die rather than renounce my faith". Dear friends, may the life of this evangelizer be an encouragement and a model for priests that, like him, they will be men of God! May his example aid the many Christians of today persecuted for their faith! In this Year of Faith, may his intercession bring forth many fruits for Madagascar and the African Continent! May God bless the Malagasy people!

[in English] Pedro Calungsod was born around the year sixteen fifty-four, in the Visayas region of the Philippines. His love for Christ inspired him to train as a catechist with the Jesuit missionaries there. In sixteen sixty-eight, along with other young catechists, he accompanied Father Diego Luís de San Vitores to the Marianas Islands in order to evangelize the Chamorro people. Life there was hard and the missionaries also faced persecution arising from envy and slander. Pedro, however, displayed deep faith and charity and continued to catechize his many converts, giving witness to Christ by a life of purity and dedication to the Gospel. Uppermost was his desire to win souls for Christ, and this made him resolute in accepting martyrdom. He died on the second of April, sixteen seventy-two. Witnesses record that Pedro could have fled for safety but chose to stay at Father Diego’s side. The priest was able to give Pedro absolution before he himself was killed. May the example and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and to win souls for God!

[in Italian] Giovanni Battista Piamarta, priest of the Diocese of Brescia, was a great apostle of charity and of young people. He raised awareness of the need for a cultural and social presence of Catholicism in the modern world, and so he dedicated himself to the Christian, moral and professional growth of the younger generations with an enlightened input of humanity and goodness. Animated by unshakable faith in divine providence and by a profound spirit of sacrifice, he faced difficulties and fatigue to breathe life into various apostolic works, including the Artigianelli Institute, Queriniana Publishers, the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth for men, and for women the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord. The secret of his intense and busy life is found in the long hours he gave to prayer. When he was overburdened with work, he increased the length of his encounter, heart to heart, with the Lord. He preferred to pause before the Blessed Sacrament, meditating upon the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, to gain spiritual fortitude and return to gaining people’s hearts, especially the young, to bring them back to the sources of life with fresh pastoral initiatives.

[in Spanish] "May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you" (Ps 32:22). With these words, the liturgy invites us to make our own this hymn to God, creator and provider, accepting his plan into our lives. María Carmelo Sallés y Barangueras, a religious born in Vic in Spain in 1848, did just so. Filled with hope in spite of many trials, she, on seeing the progress of the Congregation of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching, which she founded in 1892, was able to sing with the Mother of God, "His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation" (Lk 1:50). Her educational work, entrusted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, continues to bear abundant fruit among young people through the generous dedication of her daughters who, like her, entrust themselves to God for whom all is possible. [in English] I now turn to Marianne Cope, born in eighteen thirty-eight in Heppenheim, Germany. Only one year old when taken to the United States, in eighteen sixty-two she entered the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis at Syracuse, New York. Later, as Superior General of her congregation, Mother Marianne willingly embraced a call to care for the lepers of Hawaii after many others had refused. She personally went, with six of her fellow sisters, to manage a hospital on Oahu, later founding Malulani Hospital on Maui and opening a home for girls whose parents were lepers. Five years after that she accepted the invitation to open a home for women and girls on the island of Molokai itself, bravely going there herself and effectively ending her contact with the outside world. There she looked after Father Damien, already famous for his heroic work among the lepers, nursed him as he died and took over his work among male lepers. At a time when little could be done for those suffering from this terrible disease, Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm. She is a shining and energetic example of the best of the tradition of Catholic nursing sisters and of the spirit of her beloved Saint Francis.

[in English] Kateri Tekakwitha was born in today’s New York state in sixteen fifty-six to a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother who gave to her a sense of the living God. She was baptized at twenty years of age and, to escape persecution, she took refuge in Saint Francis Xavier Mission near Montreal. There she worked, faithful to the traditions of her people, although renouncing their religious convictions until her death at the age of twenty-four. Leading a simple life, Kateriremained faithful to her love for Jesus, to prayer and to daily Mass. Her greatest wish was to know and to do what pleased God. She lived a life radiant with faith and purity.

[in French] Kateri impresses us by the action of grace in her life in spite of the absence of external help and by the courage of her vocation, so unusual in her culture. In her, faith and culture enrich each other! May her example help us to live where we are, loving Jesus without denying who we are. Saint Kateri, Protectress of Canada and the first native American saint, we entrust to you the renewal of the faith in the first nations and in all of North America! May God bless the first nations!

[in German] Anna Schaeffer, from Mindelstetten, as a young woman wished to enter a missionary order. She came from a poor background so, in order to earn the dowry needed for acceptance into the cloister, she worked as a maid. One day she suffered a terrible accident and received incurable burns on her legs which forced her to be bed-ridden for the rest of her life. So her sick-bed became her cloister cell and her suffering a missionary service. She struggled for a time to accept her fate, but then understood her situation as a loving call from the crucified One to follow him. Strengthened by daily communion, she became an untiring intercessor in prayer and a mirror of God’s love for the many who sought her counsel. May her apostolate of prayer and suffering, of sacrifice and expiation, be a shining example for believers in her homeland, and may her intercession strengthen the Christian hospice movement in its beneficial activity.

Dear brothers and sisters, these new saints, different in origin, language, nationality and social condition, are united among themselves and with the whole People of God in the mystery of salvation of Christ the Redeemer. With them, we too, together with the Synod Fathers from all parts of the world, proclaim to the Lord in the words of the psalm that he "is our help and our shield" and we invoke him saying, "may your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you" (Ps 32:20.22). May the witness of these new saints, and their lives generously spent for love of Christ, speak today to the whole Church, and may their intercession strengthen and sustain her in her mission to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world.

Six New Saints to be Canonized this Year

19 FEBRUARY 2010. Today at an ordinary public consistory presided over by Pope Benedict XVI in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, it was announced that the six new saints would be canonized on 17 October 2010. The Blesseds to be canonized later this year are:

Stanislao Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, Polish professed religious of the Order of Canons Regular Lateranense (1433-1489).

Andre Bessette (ne Alfred), Canadian professed religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (1845-1937).

Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (nee Juanna Joesfa), Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (1845-1912).

Mary of the Cross MacKillop (nee Mary Helen), Australian foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (1842-1909).

Giulia Salzano, Italian foundress of the the Congregation of Sisters Catechists of the Sacred Heart (1846-1929).

Battista da Varano (nee Camilla), professed nun of the Order of Poor Clares and foundress of the monastery of St. Clare in the Italian town of Camerino (1458-1524).

With thanks from photvat.com, and our friends at the New Liturgical Movement, below are pictures from today's consistory.

Recognizing a Saint: Part 5 of 5

1 December 2009. This is the last installment of this series, as we have arrived at the pinnacle of the Church's recognition of sainthood: canonization. It is in canonization that the Church comes to bestow the title "Saint" on a person.

Once a person has been beatified, the final step to sainthood requires a proven miracle that has come about because of the Blessed's intercession. For a Blessed who is a confessor, this means a second miracle is needed. As in beatification, the proven miracle is taken as God's sign that the miracle has been performed by Him, because of the intercession of the Blessed, who is truly in heaven enjoying the beatific vision.

Upon the recognition of the miracle necessary for sainthood, the Pope can celebrate the canonization--adding the Saint's name to the list, or canon, of saints.

The formal declaration of canonization usually occurs during a special mass of the Pope outside of Saint Peter's Basilica before a large crowd. (However, the canonization mass may also be held in the saint's home country.) During the mass the saint's life history is read aloud, and the Pope chants the following in Latin:

In honor of the Blessed Trinity, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith and the growth of Christian life, with the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and Our Own, after lengthy reflection, having assiduously invoked God's assistance and taken into account the opinion of many brothers of ours in the episcopate, we declare and define [name] to be a saint [or "to be blessed"], and we enroll him [or her] in the Catalogue of the saints, and we establish that in the whole Church he [or she] should be devoutly honored among the saints. In the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Then, a large tapestry with an image of the saint is unfurled before the faithful to admire and venerate. Shown above is the tapestry of Saint Francisco Coll y Guitart, canonized earlier this year by Pope Benedict XVI.

With canonization, the Saint's feast day is assigned and may be celebrated anywhere in the Church. However, not every Saint's feast day appears on the General Roman Calendar or is celebrated as an obligatory feast in the Church. (In fact, only about half of the days of the year ( 149 if I have counted correctly) are recognized on the General Roman Calendar as obligatory or optional memorials of a Saint.)

Churches may be named in the honor of a saint and the faithful are free, without restriction, to celebrate and honor the saint. And, the masses may be celebrated in the saint's memory.

In the history of the Church, however, the process for sainthood that we have examined in this series--Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint--is a relatively new development. In the case of persons that have commonly been called saints from "time immemorial" (in practice, since before 1500 or so), the Church may carry out a confirmation of cultus whereby the Church affirms that it is acceptable to venerate the person and the person is given the title of Blessed. Profiled on this blog, Blessed Simon Ballacchi, is an example of one who has received the title "Blessed" in this manner.

This short series of posts has not, in any way, been a thorough or complete treatment of the process of the Church in recognizing a saint. However, I offer it to all readers as a brief explanation of how we the Church has come to venerate and pray to the saints for their intercession.

So, the end of the story is this: Pray to the saints! By the power of their intercession, we can each one be a better instrument of God's love here on earth.

IMAGE: The tapestry of Saint Francisco Coll y Guitart, canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009.

Recognizing a Saint: Part 1 of 5

27 NOVEMBER 2009. Over the course of the year the Church celebrates hundreds of saints and blesseds, and many hundreds more are celebrated by particular religious communities and local churches due to particular or local devotions. As the Acta Sanctorum Blog seeks to celebrate with the Church all of these saints and blesseds, it seems like now (as a new liturgical year is about to begin) may be an opportune time to examine how the Church comes to recognize a person as a saint.

To begin, this first installment in the series will look at the basics of the Church's recognition of saints and provide a short introductory history.

As discussed in an earlier post, a saint is a "'holy one' who leads a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and receives the reward of eternal life. The Church is called the communion of saints, of the holy ones." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2d ed. (hereinafter CCC), glossary (emphasis added)) Thus, the declaration of a person as a saint is a statement of belief by the Church that the person is indeed in heaven, having received the reward of eternal life for having lived a holy life in union with God, through the grace of Christ. 

In other words, the Church's recognition of an individual as a saint is not what makes that person a saint. Instead, the Church is declaring its belief that the person is a saint and was a saint (even before the person's formal recognition by the Church).

There a number of steps that must be achieved before the Church will declare a person's sainthood: (1) first the person's life undergoes an examination during which the person is given the title "Servant of God;" (2) at some point, the body of the person is exhumed with permission and examined and declaration is made that no heretical cult or superstitious practice has grown up around the person or her or his tomb; (3) then, the person must declared "Venerable" and having heroic virtue; (4) then, the person may be beatified (the most difficult step in the process)--and earns the title "Blessed"--which is an affirmation that it is "worthy of belief" that the Blessed is, indeed, in heaven; and (5) finally, the person may be canonized--thereby earning the title "Saint"--which is the declaration of belief that the person is indeed in heaven, enjoying the beatific vision.

The process to achieve sainthood, which had been around in some from since at least the Thirteenth Century, was simplified further, following reforms by Pope Paul VI, by Pope John Paul II in his apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister, issued on 25 January 1983, and the norms issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 7 February 1983.

The declaration of sainthood provides for universal veneration of the Saint throughout the Church. While not an express limitation, the veneration of a Blessed, or Beati, may be limited to only a particular diocese or a particular religious order.

Reportedly, there are more than 10,000 named saints and blesseds from history, counting both Catholic and Orthodox sources, but there is no definitive head count. The General Roman Calendar assigns feast days of saints to about half of the days of the year. However, that is only a small percentage of all the saints listed in the Roman Martyrology--the Church's official 776 page list of saints.

The second installment of this series will look more closely at what is involved in a person being named a Servant of God.