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Featured Term (selected at random):ADVOCATUS DEI Advocate of God. The one authorized to examine the virtues and reported miracles of a person whose cause for beatification has been introduced with the Holy See. Also called the promoter of the cause. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

We interrupt this hiatus for an intriguing story of particular note.... Arguably the most influential figure in the four-century history of American Catholicism, nearly a year after Fulton Sheen was celebrated anew across the globe on the 30th anniversary of his death, the iconic prelate's boyhood diocese has suddenly pulled out of leading the charge for his beatification. In a release posted to its website late last week, the Peoria-based Archbishop Sheen Cause announced the surprise move thus: It is with great sadness and disappointment, Bishop [Daniel] Jenky announces that after nine years of effort and sacrifice, the Diocese...

Father Claude Grou stands in front of a statue of Brother Andre at St. Joseph's Oratory. The humble hero would have been comfortable with canonization, the oratory rector argues, "if this can help people to love St. Joseph better, if this can help people come closer to God." Before recognizing a saint, the Catholic church says it thoroughly investigates the subject to ensure he or she led a remarkable and exemplary Christian life. The subject must also have at least two miracles recognized as taking place through his or her intercession. The Vatican says it must confirm that "the act...

The late Pope John Paul II, who has been put on the fast track to sainthood by the Vatican, regularly whipped himself as an act of penance to feel closer to God, and signed a secret document saying that would step down as pontiff if he became incurably ill, according to a new book. Why a Saint? by Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Vatican "postulator" in charge of the canonisation process, says the Polish-born Pope performed self flagellation as a bishop in Krakow and continued to do so in the Vatican after being elected Pope in 1978. "In his wardrobe, among...

Venerables John Paul II and Pius XII Rome, Italy, Jan 19, 2010 / 12:21 pm (CNA).- Some details of the case under investigation regarding a possible miracle attributed to Venerable Pope Pius XII have been made public.  The story features not just one former Pontiff, but two.On Tuesday morning, Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli published an article in Il Giornale describing at length the situation which "mysteriously involves" John Paul II.Tornielli reported that this case was brought to the attention of Benedict XVI shortly before he approved a measure on Dec. 19, 2009 venerating Pope Pius XII's life of "heroic...

Does the world really need yet another Roman Catholic saint, particularly if that means canonizing one of the most controversial popes in history? By one count, there are already more than 10,000 saints and “beati,” or blessed, accumulated since Roman times, with at least three saints already assigned for every day of the year. That’s just one of several reasons why Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to proceed toward the canonization of Pius XII, the church’s World War II-era pope, was so surprising. Another two miracles to his name, and Pius will have cleared all the hurdles to sainthood, where he...

The controversial wartime pope accused of failing to openly condemn the Holocaust has moved a step closer to sainthood, the Vatican has confirmed. Pope Pius XII will be declared venerable after the current pontiff Pope Benedict XVI approved a "heroic virtues decree", the first of three stages before canonisation. To be declared venerable, a church investigation has to conclude that the person in question lived a life of exemplary holiness and heroic virtue. There must be nothing in the dead person’s writings that enables these characteristics to be challenged. Pope Benedict has also agreed to declare his predecessor Pope John...

THE Vatican is gearing up to give Australia a joyous Christmas celebration, with Blessed Mary MacKillop almost certain to be our first saint within days. The decision will end decades of lobbying for the canonisation of the woman revered for her tireless work helping children and the needy. Australia's five million Catholics will rejoice at the news, with the sainthood predicted to spark a surge in interest in the Church and faith, particularly in South Australia where Mary co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph. The Sunday Mail understands Mary MacKillop's second miracle has been cleared by a team of cardinals...

div class="noticia_imagen_contenedor" style="width: 250px;"> John Paul II Rome, Italy, Nov 17, 2009 / 11:22 am (CNA).- Vatican analyst Andrea Tornielli reported this week that the first step toward the beatification of John Paul II has already been completed.  He explained that officials at the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints have given the green light for the proclamation of the late Pope's heroic virtue.Tornielli added that only the signature of Pope Benedict XVI is needed for the proclamation to become official, noting that it “could come during Christmas, when the prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the...

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for one thing - getting elected president in a country that has never had a woman or a person of color as its leader. I expect an Oscar, a Tony and a Pulitzer will all follow, and all will be equally deserved. The Nobel is great news for Obama and for America, but is bad news for the Rev. Al, Jesse and me, as the prize committees have now met their quota.

There are men who say, "My wife is a saint for putting up with me." But an Ohio man, Jerome Coniker, may prove it. The Vatican has given approval to pursue sainthood for his late wife, Gwen, who was 62 when she died in June 2002. "When the church looks for sanctity, they don't seek phenomenal signs or revelations or apparitions. They just look for the virtuous life. She sure qualifies for that," said Mr. Coniker, co-founder with her of the Apostolate for Family Consecration in Bloomingdale, Ohio. Together they raised 12 children, and have 65 grandchildren. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07252/815934-85.stm#ixzz0HIqjCOIT&B

(CNS/Reuters) According to the Italian daily La Stampa, John Paul II will be beatified on April 2, 2010 — the fifth anniversary of his death. Reporter Giacomo Galeazzi reports that thanks to an acceleration in the beatification process, documents pertaining to John Paul’s cause, called the “positio,” have already been forwarded by a commission of theologians to be examined by cardinals . “This is very good news,” says Msgr. Tadeusz Pieronek, the Polish priest who has been responsible for the diocesan phase of the beatification process in Krakow, La Stampa reported. La Stampa adds that in early March, John Paul...

WAILUKU -- Just after midnight in Rome on Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI made the final announcement many Hawaii residents have wanted to hear for more than a century. The pope will canonize Blessed Damien of Molokai as a saint Oct. 11 at the Vatican, according to an e-mail from the Very Rev. Marc R. Alexander of the Honolulu Roman Catholic Church Diocese. Damien ministered to leprosy patients on Kalaupapa in the 19th century, ultimately contracting the then-fatal disease. The pope had previously declared in July that Damien would become a saint, after the church officially attributed to Damien the two...

A 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii will be declared a saint Oct. 11 at a Vatican ceremony presided over by Pope Benedict XVI. The Rev. Damien de Veuster's canonization date was set Saturday during a meeting between Benedict and cardinals at the Apostolic Palace. De Veuster will be canonized along with four other people, the Vatican said.

Thousands of Cubans, including President Raul Castro and Communist Party leaders, flocked to a Catholic ceremony on Saturday putting a 19th century monk on the path to sainthood. Saturday's Mass honored Friar Jose Olallo Valdes, known as the father of the poor. It was the first beatification ceremony on the island. "From here on, let him be called blessed," said the pope's representative, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican.

French Jewish Group Opposes Pius XII Sainthood Friday, October 17, 2008 4:30 PM PARIS -- France's main Jewish organization warned Friday that efforts to make wartime Pope Pius XII a saint would deal "a severe blow" to relations between Catholics and Jews. The warning from an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups comes as the Vatican mounts a campaign to refute accusations Pius did not do enough to try to stop the extermination of 6 million Jews during World War II. "Pope Pius XII, worried about burning his bridges with Germany, never made a clear statement denouncing the singular monstrosity...

LONDON (CNS) -- Catholic officials have applied for permission to exhume the body of a 19th-century cardinal whose cause for sainthood is expected to soon progress to beatification. They want to transfer the remains of Cardinal John Henry Newman from a grave in a small cemetery in the suburbs of Birmingham, England, to a marble sarcophagus in a church in the city where they can be venerated by pilgrims. A July 14 statement said that the Archdiocese of Birmingham was now in direct contact with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, to obtain the necessary...

The requisite miracle for his canonization approved in May, the Pope yesterday green-lighted the elevation to sainthood of Bl Damien deVeuster -- the Belgian priest (1840-89) who spent his life ministering to the leper community on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, eventually contracting and dying of the disease. Beatified in 1995, the news gives Stateside Catholicism its seventh product raised to the honors of the altar, and is notable on a global level given the widespread devotion to Bl Damien as unofficial patron of HIV/AIDS patients. Benedict XVI accepted 13 decrees of miracles, martyrdom and heroic virtue presented to...

From the Canadian Press, Vatican City press office: Pope Benedict on Saturday set the founder of the Knights of Columbus, one of the world's largest lay Catholic groups, on the path to possible beatification and sainthood, the Vatican said.The Pope recognized the "heroic virtues" of reverend Michael McGivney, who in 1882 created a fraternal society for Catholic men who suffered discrimination because of their religion and immigrant origins....The effort to canonize him was opened in 1997. That process received important support last year, when the Vatican's No. 2 official, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, celebrated mass at the Knights of Columbus...

Orlando, Feb 5, 2008 / 07:12 am (CNA).- Karl von Habsburg, the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire moved a step closer to sainthood last week, the Orlando Sentinel reports.  A Florida woman has claimed that by praying for the intercession of the emperor, she was cured from breast cancer.The Baptist woman from Kissimmee, Florida received the ruler’s holy card from a friend, Paula Melancon, who became interested in Emperor von Habsburg on a trip to Europe.  The cancer sufferer prayed that Karl intercede on her behalf.Doctors as well as a judicial tribunal of the Diocese of Orlando agreed that...