Greetings to all Edmund Rice fans.  Please keep your comments coming in! Next month, I hope to make some suggestions about an International Novena to be held in preparation for the Feast of Blessed Edmund which, as you know, is celebrated annually on 5 May. This month, in answer to a number of requests, I supply a few comments on the step of Canonisation (that awaiting Blessed Edmund) and on the Church’s official teaching on SAINTS, as spelt out in the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH [1993].  Hopefully, all of this will be applied in a helpful manner to the promotion of our Edmund’s Cause.

CANONISATION:

After Beatification [Blessed Edmund Rice, 6 October 1996], investigations continue, although Causes may be delayed for long periods of time.  At present there are hundreds of Causes “in deferral”, the time between Beatification and the actual Canonisation. To advance the person’s Cause to Sainthood, a second miracle is usually required at this point – a miracle performed AFTER the Beatification.

The Canonisation of a Saint is infallibly pronounced by the Pope in a formal declaration called an “apostolic bull”, and the Canonisation ceremony is usually celebrated amid the pageantry of St Peter’s in Rome. [American readers, feel free to use the spelling CANONIZATION.] The Pope declares that the person is in heaven, is worthy of public veneration, and is included in the liturgical calendar of the universal church.

CANONISATION permits:

·        Public honour and veneration of the Saint worldwide;

·        Church buildings to bear the Saint’s name;

·        A liturgical feast (Mass + Liturgy of the Hours) to be placed on the Church’s universal calendar;

·        Images of the Saint to be publicly displayed in any church;

·        The Saint’s remains to be publicly honoured.

The Vatican-approved CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, issued in 1993, states Church teaching on the Saints.  The numbers at the ends of each summary statement below denote the corresponding paragraph numbers in the Catechism:

(    1)     The work of salvation and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit continue to be manifested through the witness of the Saints (par.686, par.688).

(    2)     The Church honours the Saints who are in heaven, officially recognizes them by canonization, holds them up as models, and encourages the faithful to pray to them so that they may intercede with God on behalf of the faithful on earth (par.956, par.957, par.962).

(    3)     Throughout each age in the Church, persons outstanding in holiness have been recognized as models for our imitation.  The canonization process recognizes the continuing power of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church (par.828).

(    4)     All the faithful are bonded together in a spiritual unity and share in the spiritual goods of the Church through the Communion of Saints.  Those who are closely united to Christ – the Saints in heaven – intercede for the faithful on earth (par.946 – par.959).

(    5)     We discover the holiness in the Church in the long history of its Saints, and we celebrate the Saints in the sanctoral cycle of the liturgical year (par.2030).

(    6)     Images of the Saints honour the memory of those they portray and lead one to God, who alone is adored and worshipped (par.2131, par.2132).

(7)      7)    The name of a Saint can be given in Baptism as a model of one to emulate (par.2156).

The vitality and productivity of the Church has been accomplished chiefly by the works and deeds of the holy men and women who worked tirelessly for the spread of God’s kingdom.  Each age, blessed with dedicated Saints, has endured through many crises because of these holy ones.

Canonisation is the Church’s means of recognizing its great ones in a solemn way.  In comparison with the many who deserve the honours, canonisation continues to be a rare and exceptional event.  It is reserved to only a few, compared to the great number of persons who have followed Christ most perfectly and have demonstrated exemplary virtue.

Because canonisation is a complex and lengthy process, many persons who rightly deserve to be canonized remain anonymous, known only to God.  In fact, we may have some pleasant surprises when we get to heaven and find that those we least expected to be revered actually enjoy the same intimacy with God as those we esteemed by our earthly standards.

Note: “Equivalent Beatification or Canonisation”:

The Pope can decide to omit some procedures – requirement of a miracle, number of years since death, or further investigation into one’s life, for example - through “equivalent beatification or canonisation”.  This is usually determined by the person’s established reputation, as was the case with Fra Angelico, the Renaissance artist whom Pope John Paul II beatified in 1983.  Among those living in more recent times, we think of Padre Pio and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, for whom there had been universal acclaim.  It was almost as if the Pope, in response to ‘vox populi’, fast-tracked their paths to Church recognition.

Blessed Edmund Rice, intercede for us and for all who have prayed through your intercession. Amen.