Posted on 06/05/2007 8:08:07 AM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY, JUN 2, 2007 (VIS) - Yesterday morning, the Holy Father received in private audience Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:
MIRACLES
- Blessed Alfonsa of the Immaculate Conception (nee: Anna Muttathupandathu), Indian professed sister of the Congregation of Poor Clares of the Third Order of St. Francis (1910-1946).
- Blessed Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, Ecuadorian lay woman (1833-1869).
- Servant of God Antonio Rosmini, Italian priest and founder of the Institute of Charity and of the Sisters of Providence (1791-1855).
- Servant of God Mary Merkert, Polish religious, co-foundress and first superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth (1817- 1872).
- Servant of God Josepha (nee Hendrina Stenmanns), German religious and co- foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (1852-1903).
- Servant of God Celestina of the Mother of God (nee Maria Anna Donati), Italian foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of St. Joseph Calasanzio (1848-1925).
MARTYRDOM
- Servants of God Peter Kibe Kasui, Japanese priest of the Company of Jesus and 187 companions (priests, religious and laity), killed in Japan between 1603 and 1639.
- Servants of God Avelino Rodriguez Alonso, Spanish priest of the Order of St. Augustine, 97 companions of the same order and six companions of the diocesan clergy, killed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
- Servants of God Manuela of the Heart of Jesus (nee Manuela Arriola Uranga) and 22 companions of the Institute of Handmaidens Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity, killed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
- Servant of God Frank Jagerstatter, Austrian layman, born 1907 and killed in Berlin, Germany in 1943.
HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Battista Arista, Italian bishop of Acireale and member of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri (1863-1920).
- Servant of God Jean-Joseph (ne Alcide Lataste), French priest of the Order of Friars Preachers and founder of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic of Betania (1832-1869).
- Servant of God Francesco Maria Perez, Italian professed religious of the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence (1861-1937).
- Servant of God Maria Caterina of the Child Jesus (nee Luisa Lavizzari), prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and of Perpetual Reparation in the convent of Ronco di Ghiffa (1867-1931).
- Servant of God Maria Fedele (nee Eleonora Margarita Weiss), German professed religious of the Third Order of St. Francis in the convent of Reutberg (1882- 1923).
- Servant of God Armida Barelli, Italian of the Third Secular Order of St. Francis and co-foundress of the Institute of Missionary Sisters of the Regality of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1882-1952).
- Servant of God Cleonilde Guerra, Italian lay woman (1922-1949).
CSS/DECREES/SARAIVAVIS 070604 (490)
From Amy Wellborn's blog
I have time enough to only link to further biographies of a few of the servants of God and blesseds below, but one that stands out (after Franz Jagerstatter, of course!) is the approval of the miracle for Servant of God Antonio Rosmini, Italian priest and founder of the Institute of Charity and of the Sisters of Providence. Rosmini's philosophical and theological work fell under a cloud after his death, as John Allen explains in a piece from last summer, on the occasion of Pope Benedict signing the "decree of heroic virtue" for Rosmini:
In his famous 1848 work The Five Wounds of the Church, Rosmini identified the most grave challenges facing the church of his day as he saw them:
- The division of the people from the clergy in worship (due to ignorance and the use of Latin),
- The defective education of the clergy,
- The disunion of bishops (due to territorialism, nationalism and wealth),
- The nomination of bishops by the secular power (rather than by election), and
- The enslavement of the church by riches (due to the long shadow of feudalism).
These positions may seem unremarkable today, but at the time they generated enormous controversy, and left Rosmini under a cloud. In 1887, 22 years after Rosmini's death, the Holy Office issued a decree Post obitum in which 40 "propositions" lifted from Rosmini's work were condemned. For example, Rosmini was accused of favoring "ontologism," a sort of philosophical form of pantheism. While the "propositions" largely had to do with the mystery of God and creation, the politics of the 19th century hovered in the background, especially Rosmini's openness to Italian unification over against defenders of the temporal power of the papacy.
For more than a century, Rosmini's supporters, including the Institute of Charity which he founded, pushed for a reevaluation.
In 1984, John Paul II approved the opening of a beatification cause for Rosmini, and in his 1998 encyclical Fides et Ratio, John Paul referred to Rosmini as an example of the "fruitful relationship between philosophy and the word of God in the courageous research pursued by more recent thinkers." (Also included on that list was John Henry Newman, another churchman who stood under a cloud for a period of time.)
All this led to a nota of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith dated July 1, 2001, which declared that the motives that led to the 1887 condemnation "can now be considered superseded," concluding that the aberrant material in the 40 propositions "does not belong to the authentic position of Rosmini." In effect, the nota amounted to an official rehabilitation.
With Monday's action by Benedict XVI, Rosmini is now an authenticated miracle away from beatification, and two from officially being declared a saint.
Here is the text of the CDF's nota:
If you're interested in ongoing canonization causes - this place should interest you very much. One interesting cause I'd never heard about - Paul Murphy, MJ, out of the Diocese of Phoenix.
Speaking of saints...6/08 - 6/09 will be the Year of Paul - very apt. Mission, apostleship, encounters with various cultures, theological acuity, focus on the reality and power of Christ. Very Benedict-ine. Very much what the 21st century cries out for.
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