Today the Vatican
made
several announcements regarding upcoming canonizations and beatifications—the
two most notable (for American Catholics, at least) being the approval of
miracles attributed to the intercession of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and
Blessed Marianne Cope. This move will pave the way for the canonization of the
two American women; according to
CNS’ report on the
announcement, a consistory including the cardinals present in Rome must
take place supporting the Pontiff’s decision before a date or dates for the canonizations
can be set.
Biographies of Blessed Kateri and Blessed Marianne can be
found here and here.
The Vatican also approved miracles attributed to the
intercession of five other “blesseds”; from the CNS report:
-- Blessed Giovanni Battista
Piamarta, an Italian priest who founded the Congregation of the Holy Family of
Nazareth for men and the Humble Servants of the Lord for women. He died in
1913.
-- Blessed Jacques Berthieu, a French Jesuit priest who was martyred in
Madagascar in 1896.
-- Blessed Carmen Salles y Barangueras, the Spanish founder of the Sisters of
the Immaculate Conception. She worked with disadvantaged girls and prostitutes
and saw that early education was essential for helping young women. She died in
1911.
-- Blessed Peter Calungsod, a lay Catholic from Cebu, Philippines, who
accompanied Jesuit missionaries to Guam as a catechist and was martyred there
in 1672 while he was in his late teens.
-- Blessed Anna Schaffer, a lay German woman who wanted to be a missionary, but
couldn't do so after a succession of physical accidents and disease. She
accepted her infirmity as a way of sanctification. Her grave has been a
pilgrimage site since her death in 1925.
Sixty-four individuals “killed in hatred of the faith” during
the Spanish Civil War were also recognized by the Vatican as martyrs, a
critical step toward beatification.
The full declaration from the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints can
be read here, including the recognition of the “heroic virtue” of seven
Servants of God.