Three New Saints: Number of Role Models Continue to Grow
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| Blessed Guido Maria Conforti |
October
23, 2011, Pope Benedict
XVI canonized three 19th-century founders of religious orders; Monsignor
Guido Maria Conforti, Spanish nun Sister Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro, and Rev.
Luigi Guanella [The Associated Press, 2011]. These three
new Catholic saints continue the fast paced canonization practices of Pope John
Paul II, who canonized more people than had been canonized in the previous four
centuries combined(477) [New Advent Online, 2011] [Catholic education Resource
Center, 2011].
This fast paced canonization is
creating a lot of firsts for the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict XVI has become the
only Pope to beatify his immediate predecessor [Doland, Gera, Kopacz, 2011] and
has the possibility of canonizing him also. This beautification comes after skipping
the mandatory five year waiting period for consideration of sainthood after
Pope John Paul II’s death. Crowd reaction during the funeral services for John
Paul II where the crowd chanted “Santo Subito,” (Sainthood Now) caused the rush
(Allen, 2011). The waiting period rule was set in place by John Paul II in 1983
when he quickened the canonization process by removing one mandatory miracle
along with other slight changes (Catholic-Pages Online, 1997).
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| Sister Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro |
Richard Marquis, 79, Catholic, does
not see a problem with the fast paced canonization process. “There are times
when a person’s life and actions are so good, and they conform so well to
Catholic teachings we just know that the good person has made it to Heaven,”
Marquis said in an interview. “That is why we pray to them [the saints];
because we know they [the saints] are there delivering messages on our behalf,”
(R. Marquis, Personal Interview November 5, 2011). Do more saints mean more
prayers are being delivered to God, or has this become a type of
super-recognition for Catholics that are leading a good life? Could there be
other reasons for continuing to promote the beatification and canonization of
long dead individuals?
Justin Lewis-Anthony, author and
rector of St Stephen's Church, Canterbury, wrote in a blog post that “[w]e seem
to see God better in certain places than in others. It can be the same with
people: saints help us draw near to the divine,” (Anthony, 2009)
While commenting on recent
canonizations, Marquis said that during a vacation in Europe a few years ago he
had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the events that occur when an
outstanding member of a small town becomes a saint. “The atmosphere was
electric. The entire town’s population, catholic or not, was getting ready to
celebrate and remember the life and deeds of a person who had been dead for
over sixty years,” (R. Marquis, Personal Interview November 5, 2011).
Can the life of a saint and the
miracles attributed to them be an inspiration to more than just a Catholic?
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| Rev. Luigi Guanella |
The father of William
"Billy" Glisson Jr., a Methodist, might attest to that. Glisson’s
son, Billy, was 21 when he had an accident that caused him severe head
injury. Doctors had all but given up on
Billy coming out of his coma. They had been sure he would spend the rest of his
life in a vegetative state. Then a family friend had given Billy’s mother
fragments of bone from the then beautified Rev.
Luigi Guanella. After two weeks of intense prayer by family members and members
of Don
Guanella Village, a residence and school for 150 mentally retarded teens and
men in Springfield, PA, Billy’s parents saw slight eye movement. By the fall of
2002 Billy was back to his construction work (O'Reilly, 2011).
This event was the miracle needed to
canonize the Rev. Luigi Guanella. During his life and in his ministries Saint
Guanella "recognized
the dignity of ailing persons at a time when people would shame them or
mistreat them, but he called them 'good children' and 'treasures,' " said
the Rev. Dennis Weber, head of Don Guanella Village (O'Reilly, 2011).
All three of the saints canonized
last month were founders of religious orders.
Sister
Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro began an organization designed to teaching “spirituality,
centered on the sanctification of work harmonized with prayer in the simplicity
of everyday life,” (Vatican Online, 2011).
Monsignor
Guido Maria Conforti began his life as a spiritual leader. His dream of one day
ministering to people all around the world about the news of the crucifixion
Was realized early on. He founded the Xaverian Missionaries whose core
principals include the “Development of intercultural values
and skills, promotion of inter-religious sharing and dialogue, acceptance of
diversity, and the encouragement of responsible global citizenship,” (Xaverian
Missionaries Online, 2011).
The fast paced canonization
practices are not going to stop anytime soon.
With Pope Benedict XVI averaging just over 5 for each year of his papacy
with 2011 being the smallest number (3) it is expected that the number of
saints in the Catholic religion will continue to grow rapidly; but maybe not as
fast as Pope John Paul II’s papacy (17 per year).