By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called on the faithful to yearn to serve, not thirst for power, as he proclaimed 14 new saints, including Canada-born St. Marie-Leonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and 11 martyrs. “Those who dominate do not win, only those who […]
15 years a saint: Recalling St. Damien’s canonization
By Jennifer Rector Hawaii Catholic Herald On Oct. 11, 2009, people speaking different languages and from many nations all united at the Vatican to witness Pope Benedict XVI proclaim Hawaii’s first saint — Father Damien de Veuster of Molokai. The canonization of St. Damien put a spotlight on his courageous story of ministry to Hansen’s […]
Guided by faith, she fought for justice
Dorothy Day, whose work many still consider radical, is now a candidate for sainthood By Russell Shaw OSV News In one of his more snarky stories about clerical life — it’s called “The Forks” — the American Catholic writer J.F. Powers capsulizes the fraught relationship between a stuffy, self-important pastor and his young curate […]
Canonization too expensive for many American ‘saints’
By Kimberley Heatherington OSV News “Don’t call me a saint,” admonished Dorothy Day, journalist, activist and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. “I don’t want to be dismissed so easily.” While Day fiercely sought to avoid holy titles during her lifetime, there are many Catholics who hope she will one day have “saint” attached to […]
Photo: 10 years a saint
Top, Sister Charlene Epil, left, and Sister Jovita Augustin, both Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, carry a maile lei to drape over the box holding the remains of St. Marianne at the Oct. 25 Mass in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa celebrating the 10th anniversary of her canonization in Rome. Above, the […]
Diocese to celebrate 10th anniversary of St. Marianne Cope’s canonization
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Ten years ago, on Oct. 21, under glorious blue skies, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Mother Marianne Cope in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, giving Hawaii its second saint in three years. The Diocese of Honolulu will celebrate the anniversary with a Mass in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa on […]
Sainthood a reachable goal
Saints’ lives prove the power of God’s love to transfigure all, Pope Francis says at canonization Mass By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The lives of the saints prove that holiness is not an unreachable goal accomplished by a select few but comes from acknowledging and sharing God’s love, Pope Francis […]
Two U.S. war heroes get sainthood nod from U.S. bishops
By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The U.S. bishops gave their go-ahead to two dioceses to continue their efforts to make their case for a priest and a brother to be considered for sainthood. The men are Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, an Army chaplain who died in […]
Bishop Silva moves forward with Joseph Dutton’s canonization cause
Hawaii Catholic Herald A third Molokai saint? Bishop Larry Silva has moved forward the possibility of a third canonized saint emerging from the five-square mile Molokai peninsula already sanctified by the lives of 8,000 people forcibly quarantined there for having Hansen’s disease. A one-page edict, dated, read and posted by the bishop on May 29, […]
Church’s reputation on the line when judging sanctity
By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — In the Catholic Church, a person’s canonization is almost always preceded by decades of meticulous investigation into the minute details of the candidate’s life. Thousands of saints have been raised to the altars after these thorough investigations, while the causes of many other candidates are […]