by John L. Allen Jr.
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
On Sunday, Oct. 15, Benedict XVI will canonize four new saints: Mexican Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia; an Italian priest, Filippo Smaldone, and an Italian nun, Rosa Venerini; and the French-born founder of the American order of Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary of the Woods, Theodora Guérin.
The liturgy in St. Peter’s Square will mark the second canonization of Benedict’s pontificate.
John Paul II shattered every precedent when it came to naming of saints – 482 canonizations and 1, 338 beatifications, more than all previous popes combined. Many expected a slowdown under Benedict, an instinct seemingly confirmed in late April when the pope wrote to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to stipulate that candidates must have a verified reputation for holiness, even for “people who have distinguished themselves by their evangelical lucidity or by special ecclesiastical and social merits,” and that a physical miracle, not just moral, is also required.
News that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints is working on a new document, technically an “instruction,” concerning the procedures for beatifications and canonizations has also been taken as a sign of a greater degree of fastidiousness under Benedict.
In fact, however, Vatican sources said this week that to date there’s no sign of any slowdown in the saint-making assembly line.
In 2004, sources noted, the last full year of John Paul’s papacy, there were 18 beatifications. So far in 2006, there are 15 beatifications on the books, and while it’s unlikely more will be added, the numbers are already roughly equivalent. Sources also said that 2007 figures to bring another bumper crop.
Beyond the numbers, Vatican sources say they also cannot discern any new wrinkle in the kind of candidates being beatified and canonized. Significant numbers of martyrs from the Spanish Civil War, for example, are still moving through the system, a trend initiated by John Paul.
The forthcoming instruction, sources said, could actually increase the number of new saints, in that it will spell out in exacting detail the process to be followed so that cases do not arrive in Rome with procedural defects. The text is virtually complete and should be published shortly.
At this stage, officials said, there is already a “hefty waiting list” of cases that have to be reviewed by the body of cardinals, archbishops and bishops who make up the congregation. The group meets twice a month, and time permits consideration of usually no more than three cases per meeting. Hence the most important “brake” on the system, sources said, is not any new policy from the pope, but the physical capacity of the congregation to manage its caseload.
Sources said the bottom line is that it’s difficult to discern any significant shift in policy from John Paul to Benedict on this score. The “saint factory” is still operating at full capacity.
In terms of cases involving candidates who were either born in the United States or who spent time in America, Vatican officials said three seem to be heading for significant steps forward:
•tA miracle attributed to Blessed Damian of Molokai, the famed Belgian priest who worked with lepers in the Hawaiian Islands in the late 19th century, is under examination. If approved, it would clear the way for canonization. Damien was beatified by John Paul II in 1995.
•tA miracle attributed to Fr. Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, is also awaiting consideration in Rome after having been studied and approved at the diocesan level. If accepted by the congregation, the miracle would set the stage for McGivney’s beatification.
•tWhat one official described as an “excellent miracle case” is under study for Pierre Toussaint, who was born into a Haitian slave family in 1766 and who lived most of his life in New York. The miracle would move Toussaint towards eventual beatification.
One Vatican source said that of these cases, none is likely to be ready for 2007, although if Toussaint’s miracle is authenticated, he may stand a good chance of reaching beatification in 2008.
tFinally, Portuguese Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will reach the retirement age of 75 in January. One educated guess making the rounds in Rome is that after he steps down, Saraiva Martins could become Benedict XVI’s “designated beatifier,” since the pope has decided that beatification ceremonies will be held in local dioceses rather than in Rome. Saraiva Martins could be asked to represent the pope at these ceremonies in various parts of the world.
As a footnote to the Oct. 15 canonizations, Guízar is the great-uncle of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was asked to observe restrictions on his ministry earlier this year by Benedict XVI following charges of sexual abuse against the prominent 86-year-old Mexican priest.
