Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Bl. Marianne Cope to be canonized

December 19, 2011

The Vatican has cleared the way for the canonization of 7 new saints, including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and Blessed Marianne Cope.

On December 19, Pope Benedict XVI approved a series of decrees by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, advancing a number of candidates toward canonization or beatification.

In 7 cases, involving candidates who have already been beatified, the decrees testified to the authenticity of a miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession. This fulfills the requirements for canonization in these cases. They include two American women.

1. Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), the “Lilly of the Mohawks,” was born in upstate New York and lived both there and in Canada. Baptized by Jesuit missionaries on Easter Sunday in 1676, she died in Quebec 4 years later. Her reputation for sanctity spread quickly, and in 1980 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. She was the first Native American to be beatified, and will be the first canonized.
2. Blessed Marianne Cope (1838-1918) was born in Germany—her name was originally Barbara Koob--but her family moved to the US shortly after her birth. Entering the Franciscan order, she was a teacher and hospital administrator, and eventually a religious superior. In 1883 she and her community moved to Hawaii to care for victims of leprosy, and she continued the St. Damien among the lepers of Molokai. She was beatified in 2005.

The December 19 decrees also certified miracles through the intercession of:

• Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841-1913), an Italian priest;
• Blessed Maria del Carmen (1848-1911), born Maria Salles y Barangueras, a Spanish religious;
• Blessed Jacques Berthieu (1838-1896), a French Jesuit martyr;
• Blessed Anna Schaffer (1882-1925), a German laywoman; and
• Blessed Pedro Calungsod (1654-1672), a Filipino lay catechist and martyr.

The Vatican has not yet announced when the canonizations will take place.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints also certified miracles to the following Servants of God, who will now be eligible for beatification:

• Louis Brisson (1817- 1908), a French priest;
• Luigi Novarese (1914-1984), an Italian priest;
• Maria Luisa Prosperi (1799-1847), an Italian abbess;
• Mother St. Louis Lamoignon (1763-1825), a French religious; and
• Maria Crescencia Perez (1897-1932), an Argentine religious.

The Congregation attested to the martyrdom of 66 people, all of whom may now be canonized:

• Nicola Rusca (1563-1618), a Swiss priest;
• Luis Orencio and 18 companions; Antonio Mateo Salamero, a diocesan priest, and José Gorostazu Labayen, all Spanish martyrs who died in 1936;
• Alberto Maria Marco y Aleman and 8 companions of the Carmelite order; and Agustin Maria Garcia Tribaldos and 15 companions of the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools—all killed in Spain in 1936 and 1937; and
• Mariano Alcala Perez and 18 companions of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, also killed in Spain in 1936 and 1937.

Finally, the December 19 decrees recognized the “heroic virtue” of 7 candidates, who may now be beatified if a miracle is attested to their intercession:

1. Donato Giannotti (1828-1914), an Italian priest;
2. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus Grialou (1894-1967), a French Carmelite priest;
3. Alphonse-Marie Eppinger (1814-1867), a French religious;
4. Marguerite Lucia Szewczyk (1828-1905), a Polish religious;
5. Assunta Marchetti (1871-1948), an Italian religious;
6. Maria Julitta Ritz (1882-1966), a German religious; and
7. Maria Anna Amico Roxas (1883-1947), an Italian laywoman.

 

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Further information:

• Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (VIS)
• Pope approves 7 new saints including Hawaii’s Mother Marianne and Native American (AP)