Francisco and Jacinta to be canonized during Pope Francis’ visit to Fatima on May 13, 2017

WAF USA – World Apostolate of Fatima U.S.A.

Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto at Mass during his visit to Fatima May 13, 2017, making them the youngest non-martyrs to ever be declared saints. The decision was made April 20 by a consistory of cardinals.

Pope St. John Paul II beatified Francisco, 11, and Jacinta, 10, on May 13, 2000, 83 years after the first apparition of the Blessed Mother at Fatima in 1917. It was during the May 13 apparition that Our Lady told the children she would take Francisco and Jacinta to heaven soon, but Lucia would remain on earth for “some time longer.”

The beatification of her two cousins was something Sister Lucia had asked for during her first meeting with Pope St. John Paul II on May 13, 1982 at Fatima. The Pope expressed his desire also to see the little shepherds soon beatified. Before the end of their meeting that day, they completed their visit in the Basilica at the tombs of Francisco and Jacinta.

Read more: WAF USA

Did you know Mother Teresa experienced visions of Jesus?

Mother Teresa - Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

Vatican City, Aug 27, 2016 (Excerpt from CNA/EWTN News)

Even her friend of more than 30 years, Father Sebastian Vazhakala, did not know Mother Teresa had conversations with and visions of Jesus before forming the Missionaries of Charity. It wasn't until after her death, for the vast majority of people, that this part of Mother Teresa's spiritual life was uncovered.

“It was a big discovery,” Missionary of Charity priest, Fr. Vazhakala told CNA.   When Mother Teresa's cause for canonization was opened, just two years after her death in 1997, documents were found in the archives of the Jesuits in Calcutta, with the spiritual director and another of Mother Teresa's close priest friends, and in the office of the bishop, containing her accounts of the communications.

Fr. Vazhakala, who co-founded the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity alongside Mother Teresa, said he has a document handwritten by Mother Teresa where she discusses what Jesus spoke to her directly during the time of the locutions and visions.

Read more: Mother Teresa

Pope recognizes miracle needed to declare Mother Teresa a saint

Excerpt from Catholic News Service (CNA)

Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, thus paving the way for her canonization.

Pope Francis signed the decree for Blessed Teresa's cause and advanced three other sainthood causes Dec. 17, the Vatican announced.

Although the date for the canonization ceremony will be officially announced during the next consistory of cardinals in February, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Vatican office organizing the Holy Year of Mercy events, had said it would be Sept. 4. That date celebrates the Jubilee of workers and volunteers of mercy and comes the day before the 19th anniversary of her death, Sept. 5, 1997.

The postulator for her sainthood cause, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk of the Missionaries of Charity, said the second miracle that was approved involved the healing of a now 42-year-old mechanical engineer in Santos, Brazil.

Doctors diagnosed the man with a viral brain infection that resulted in multiple brain abscesses, the priest said in a statement published Dec. 18 by AsiaNews, the Rome-based missionary news agency. Treatments given were ineffective and the man went into a coma, the postulator wrote.

The then-newly married man's wife had spent months praying to Blessed Teresa and her prayers were joined by those of her relatives and friends when her dying husband was taken to the operating room Dec. 9, 2008.

When the surgeon entered the operating room, he reported that he found the patient awake, free of pain and asking, "What am I doing here?" Doctors reported the man showed no more symptoms and a Vatican medical commission voted unanimously in September 2015 that the healing was inexplicable.

St. John Paul II had made an exception to the usual canonization process in Mother Teresa's case by allowing her sainthood cause to be opened without waiting the usual five years after a candidate's death. He beatified her in 2003. 

The order she started -- the Missionaries of Charity -- continues its outreach to the "poorest of the poor."

Read more: Mother Teresa

The miracle behind the canonization of the parents of St Therese of Lisieux

Photograph and news excerpt from Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Seven-year-old Carmen has an extraordinary story. Because of her Blessed Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin, the parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux, will be canonized this Sunday in Saint Peter's Square.

The little girl was born prematurely in Spain in 2008 at just six months into pregnancy. She was fighting for her life for several weeks because of a cerebral hemorrhage and other severe ailments.

But her loved ones and many Carmelite sisters sought the miraculous intervention of the Martins. The Vatican recognized the baby’s healing as miraculous.

Little Carmen’s parents, her mother Carmen and her father Santos, have told her story in an exclusive interview with CNA.

Read more: The Miracle

A miracle that could canonize Mother Teresa

Photo by Manfredo Ferrari

Is this the miracle that could canonize Mother Teresa? - Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Excerpt from CNA/EWTN

Vatican City - The Vatican is studying the case of a Brazilian man inexplicably cured of brain abscesses – which could be the miracle that leads to the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Pope Francis voiced his desire to canonize Mother Teresa during the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will begin on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, as a ¨sign of mercy for the world¨ in service to the poor.

Father Caetano Rizzi, who works in the Vatican's congregation for saints, told CNA that the Pope “wants to beatify and canonize men and women that were a sign of mercy for the world in this Jubilee (Year), and Mother Teresa is a model, because of that there's a certain urgency in her process.”

The possible miracle that would bring about Mother Teresa's canonization occurred in 2008. A man from Santos, Brazil, whose identity has not been divulged in order to maintain the discretion needed to conclude the investigation, was unexpectedly cured from eight abscesses in his brain that required an operation.

In Presença Diocesana, a Brazilian newspaper, Father Elmiram Ferreira explained that he ministered to the family during this time.

The priest gave the family a prayer to ask for the intercession of Blessed Teresa and told them to pray without ceasing. “Mother Teresa turned into their comfort and strength during that long time. So when his complete recovery was verified and the doctors could not explain it, I understood that there was the hand of the Blessed.”

Read more: A miracle that could canonize Mother Teresa

Pope declares John XXIII and John Paul II as saints of the Universal Church

News story from RomeReports.com

It's official. Pope Francis has declared John XXIII and John Paul II as saints of the Catholic Church.

Before a crowded square, Card. Angelo Amato presented the decree to elevate the two Popes to the altars. Pope Francis gave his approval through a brief proclamation. 

Afterwards, family members of John XXIII and the woman cured by John Paul II presented the relics of each Pope respectively. 

FULL TEXT OF PROCLAMATION

For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II be saints and we enroll them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church. In the name of the Holy Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

ROME REPORTS releases a special program about John Paul II's miracle

News from RomeReports.com

There's a miracle behind this face. On April 8th 2011, Floribeth Mora woke up with a headache so strong she had to be taken to the emergency room.

FLORIBETH MORA 

“I was hospitalized. They told me I had a brain hemorrhage.” 

The doctors didn't have good news for Floribeth's husband. They told him her days were limited. But that was before John Paul II came into the picture. Now, in a special program produced by ROME REPORTS, they share the human drama they went through and the unexpected outcome of their story. A heartwarming and emotional story that saved her life and paved the way towards John Paul II's canonization.  

EDWIN ARCE, Floribeth's husband

“I try not to remember those difficult moments because they were filled with pain.” 

FLORIBETH MORA 

“Then, I suddenly hear a voice in my room that tells me: 'Rise.' I got up and went into the kitchen, where my husband asked me what I was doing. I told him: 'I feel fine.'” 

Now, TV channels from around the world will be able to air the emotional story of John Paul II's miracle narrated by those who were directly affected. 

It's Official. Pope Francis to canonize John Paul II and John XXIII

News excerpt from Rome Reports.com

Pope Francis has cleared John Paul II for sainthood. On Friday morning, he signed a decree that attributes a miracle to the intercession of the late Polish Pope. This gives the green light for the Polish Pope to be declared a saint of the Catholic Church.

The Pope also approved the canonization of Blessed John XXIII, who is remembered for calling the Second Vatican Council. A special consistory has been called by the Pope, to set a date for his canonization, even without the required miracle.

FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI
Vatican Spokesperson

“The road is open for the canonization of John XXIII, but a decree on a miracle has not yet been approved by the Pope. The Vatican's Causes for Saints has presented the situation to the Pope, so that a canonization can take place even without the second miracle.”
A decree approving a miracle by Alvaro del Portillo, former prelate of Opus Dei, has also been approved, paving the way towards his future beatification.

The Pope also approved additional beatifications and over 40 martyrs who will be recognized for their heroic virtues.

SEE FULL LIST OF DECREES: 

MIRACLES, attributable to the intercession of:

-Blessed John Paul II, Polish (ne Karol Josef Wojtyla), Supreme Pontiff, (1920-2005);

-Venerable Servant of God Alvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano, Spanish, bishop and prelate of the personal prelature of Santa Cruz and Opus Dei, (1914-1994);

-Venerable Servant of God Esperanza de Jesus (nee Maria Josefa Alhama Valera), Spanish, foundress of the Congregations of the Handmaids of Merciful Love and the Sons of Merciful Love, (1893-1983).

MARTYRDOM

-Servant of God Jose Guardiet y Pujol, Spanish, diocesan priest; born in 1879 and killed in hatred of the faith in Spain on 3 August 1936;

-Servant of God Mauricio Iniguez de Heredia, Spanish, and 23 companions from the Order of Hospitallers of St John of God, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937;

-Servant of God Fortunato Velasco Tobar, Spanish, and 13 companions from the Congregation of the Mission, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1934 and 1936;

-Servant of God Maria Asuncion (nee Juliana Gonzalez Trujillano) and 2 companions, Spanish, professed nuns of the Congregation of Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

HEROIC VIRTUES

-Servant of God Nicola D'Onofrio, Italian, professed priest of the Order of the Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick (Camillians), (1943-1964);

-Servant of God Bernard Philippe, French (ne Jean Fromental Cayroche), professed monk of the Institute of Christian Schools, founder of the Hermanas Guadalupanas de La Salle, (1895-1978);

-Servant of God Maria Isabel da Santissima Trinidade, Portuguese, (nee Maria Isabel Picao Caldeira viuda de Carneiro), foundress of the Congregation of Conceptionist Nuns, (1889-1962).

-Servant of God Maria del Carmen Rendiles Martinez, Venezuelan, foundress of the Servants of Jesus, Venezuala, (1903-1977);

-Servant of God Giuseppe Lazzati, Italian, consecrated layperson, (1909-1986).

Finally, the Holy Father approved the votes in favour the canonisation of Blessed John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) from the Ordinary Session of the Cardinal Fathers and bishops, and decided that a consistory would be convoked, to consider also the canonisation of Blessed John Paul II (Karol Jozef Wojtyla).

Vatican sources say second miracle approved for John Paul II

The following excerpt is from Gazzetta Del Sud

Vatican City - The process of declaring former pope John Paul II a saint took a major step forward Tuesday, when the board of theologians of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved his second miracle. Now, the proclamation of his sainthood needs only the approval of the commission of cardinals and bishops and the final signature of Pope Francis, Vatican sources have told ANSA.    

The first miracle attribute to John Paul was an "inexplicable cure" - the first of two steps on the path to sainthood. The pontiff's successor Pope Benedict XVI, who abdicated earlier this year, sanctioned the beatification after a Vatican commission officially attributed as a miracle the inexplicable recovery of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, from Parkinson's Disease. The Vatican ruled that that came through the intervention of John Paul II. The second miracle that will be attributed to him remains a closely guarded secret but sources say it will "amaze the world". The Catholic Church has been keenly awaiting the canonization of the charismatic John Paul II, one of the most popular popes in history, since he died in 2005 aged 84.

What is a Canonization?

News excerpt from RomeReports.com

A person is not born a saint. In fact, the process of actually being declared a saint is quite lengthy. It includes an investigation on the life, faith and possible miracles the person interceded in. If they are approved  the candidate becomes canonized, which means being declared a saint.

The process itself is divided into four main stages. The first begins at a local diocese. It's here that a detailed report on the life and virtues of the candidate is prepared before being submitted to the Vatican. If it gets the green light the person is declared a Servant of God. The next phase is being declared 'Venerable.' That happens when historians, theologians and cardinals agree that the candidate's heroic virtues merit that title.

In the third stage the person is declared a Blessed. For that to happen a miracle has to be attributed to his or her intercession. The miracle has to be scientifically inexplicable and it must be approved by scientists and theologians. From that point on, blesseds can be venerated in sites that are connected to their lives. Once a year, their feast day is celebrated.

The fourth and final step requires a second miracle that must happen after the candidate was beatified. If the miracle is approved, the candidate can then be declared a saint.

But before any of this happens, the Pope must first approve the entire process. Once the candidate is officially declared a saint, he or she is recognized as someone who lived an exemplary life that's worthy of the Church's highest honor.

Dorothy Day: former atheist and social advocate journalist, on the way to sainthood

The video and following news story is from RomeReports.com:

The story of Dorothy Day depicts a passionate woman, always in search of truth. As a journalist, her journey could have her become Church's first journalist saint.

LUCETTA SCARAFFIA

Osservatore Romano

“She was a great writer and American journalist, who was not Catholic. She was an atheist and a socialist, who was very involved in the worker movement. At a certain point she converted to Catholicism and created a large movement working closely with workers, and with the poor, through a magazine called the Catholic Worker.”

She had a tough life, and even underwent an abortion. But after her conversion, she changed her life. In addition to the magazine, she also established soup kitchens and shelters where victims of the Great Depression could eat and sleep. She also advocated actively during the Second Vatican Council to condemn war.

LUCETTA SCARAFFIA

Osservatore Romano

“She worked with a group of women from all around the world and from different religions to pressure or lobby the Second Vatican Council, and to make a statement for peace and to condemn war, which until then the Church had never done. They achieved it.”

A woman with a strong will, she never stopped fighting her entire life for causes she deemed as just. Her stance is supported by “Women, the Church and the World,” a supplement to the Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper.

LUCETTA SCARAFFIA

Osservatore Romano

“We published a page from her diary where she talks about how they were invited to an audience with the Pope, and he addressed them. That was, in fact, the last audience of John XXIII, and it took place precisely with those women who asked for peace. They were very happy.”

Dorothy Day died in New York City in 1980, at 83 year old. Precisely there, in her hometown, the canonization process has started. And her supporters are expecting good news soon.

A Tribute to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Kateri by Stephn B. Whatley

Artist Stephen B. Whatley - Flickr Photo Sharing!

Mr. Whatley is a talented artist who paints with brillant and colorful strokes of the brush which captivates the viewer. The artist resides in the UK and is recognized internationally for his Christian tributes. The following story about St. Kateri and the new painting is published on his website.

Kateri Tekakwitha (USA, 1656-1680) was canonised in Rome on October 21, 2012 as the first Native American Saint - and on that special day, expressionist artist Stephen B Whatley painted this new tribute; inspired by an array of historic images - including the earliest painting of 1690.

Nancy Wiechec of the Catholic News Service in Washington DC kindly introduced Stephen to St. Kateri's story, in August 2012, through an eloquent feature she had written - and the artist was immediately inspired, enchanted and moved; especially through his great affection for the USA and its people.

Painting iconic tributes to his Catholic faith often on special anniversaries has become a powerful feature of Stephen's work; and he was determined to honour this most humble of Saints - who was rejected by her tribe, through her devotion to her Catholic faith and fled from her native Fonda, NY home to Montreal, Canada.

Miracles of healing through the intercession of St Kateri have been experienced as recently as 2006 which finally convinced the Vatican to recognise her as a Saint; despite the fact that Native Americans have been appealing for this recognition since the 1800s.

A memorial Shrine to Kateri was established in 1938 in Fonda, NY; 200 acres of beautiful woodlands on the north bank of the Mohawk River.

In 1980, Kateri was beatified as the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha; the first stage toward Sainthood; which has finally come about - bringing joy peace and hope to Americans, Canadians and Catholics worldwide.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha is known as the patron Saint of American Indians, ecology and the environment.

News of the Canonisation of Kateri Tekakwitha, via BBC News:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19996957

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
October 21, 2012 by Stephen B Whatley
Oil on canvas, 27 x 19.5in/68.6 x 50cm
www.stephenbwhatley.com

Pope to canonize seven new Saints in St. Peter's Square

The video and following news report is from RomeReports.com:

On Sunday, October 21st, the Pope will canonize seven new saints. Four of them are women and three are men. They're all from different countries and lived in different time periods, but they all have one thing in common: they dedicated their lives to communicating the faith in their own unique way.

Among the new saints, are two martyrs: Jacques Berthieu (1838-1896), who was killed in Madagascar and Peter Calungsod, who was killed in the Philippines in 1672.

Two others dedicated their life to teaching education: Carmen Sallés (1848-1911) was a pioneer in women's education and Giovanni Piamarta Battista (1841-1913) taught marginalized youths a marketable trade.

The three other saints offered their pain and suffering to God. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) was a Native American woman who helped the sick, even as she dealt with her own illness.  Mother Marianne Cope (1838-1918) worked with lepers in Hawaii. Anna Schäffer (1884-1925) was sick most of her adult life. Despite being  bedridden, through her words and letters she inspired people far beyond her native Germany. 

People need to believe in miracles, says woman cured of infection

The following excerpt is from the Catholic News Service:

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Though she had always believed in miracles, Sharon Smith never dreamed she would be the recipient of one.

Her unexplained recovery from a near fatal infection in 2005 was the second miracle that cleared the way for the Oct. 21 canonization of Blessed Marianne Cope.

Smith will present Pope Benedict XVI a relic of Blessed Marianne -- a bone fragment housed in a wooden tau cross, or T-shaped cross that is the symbol of St. Francis, the inspiration of Mother Marianne's congregation.

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Smith fainted in her home one day in 2005 and woke up two months later in St. Joseph's Hospital, her body perforated by tubes as doctors fought to keep her hydrated and alive. She had been diagnosed with pancreatitis, but the inflammation soon caused an infection so severe, it ate away part of her gastrointestinal tract.

Her doctor told her that July, "Sharon, you're not going to make it," she told Catholic News Service in Rome Oct.19. She and about 90 others from the Diocese of Syracuse, including Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, came to Rome for the canonization.

Smith recalled that a friend visiting her at the hospital was given a prayer card of Mother Marianne and told to pray for her intercession. Mother Marianne had been beatified by Pope Benedict in May 2005.

"My friends told me they prayed for me the night before they were going to just disconnect me" from the respirator, "and they prayed to Mother Marianne for me," she said.

The next day, "I woke up in the morning and started talking," she said.

Though she could breathe on her own, the infection was still severe.

St. Francis Sister Michaeleen Cabral and other members of the community soon started praying for Blessed Marianne's intercession.

Read More: People Need to Believe in Miracles

Healing of Colombian man could pave way for John Paul II canonization

The following excerpt is from the Catholic News Agency (CNA):

Bogotá, Colombia  - The testimony of a Colombian man who says he was “miraculously cured” of Parkinson's Disease through the intercession of Blessed John Paul II could allow for the canonization of the Polish pope.

According to the newspaper El Tiempo, the case involves Marco Fidel Rojas, the former mayor of the town of Huila, whose testimony has now been sent to the Vatican office heading the sainthood cause for the late pontiff.

Recounting his story to the Colombian paper, Fidel remembers experiencing the first symptoms of the disease in December of 2005. After a series of examinations, doctors determined he had suffered a stroke, which led to the development of Parkinson's.

Little by little the disease began to get worse. “I felt like I could collapse at any moment. Various times I fell down outside on the street,” he recalled, adding that once he was almost run over by a taxi.

As the years went by and his health continued to deteriorate, Fidel suddenly remembered on the evening of Dec. 27, 2010, that during a trip to Rome he had met Pope John Paul II after Mass and spoke with him for a few moments.

“I have a friend up there,” Fidel thought that night, amid his pain. “And he had Parkinson's. Why didn’t I pray to him before? Venerable Father John Paul II: come and heal me, put your hands on my head.”

After praying, Fidel said he slept perfectly that night, and that the next morning he woke up with no symptoms of the illness.

“Yes, John Paul II gave me the miracle of curing me,” he said. “My great promise to my healer is to spread devotion to him wherever I can.”

El Tiempo reported that Dr. Antonio Schlesinger Piedrahita, a renowned neurologist in Colombia, has certified Fidel’s healing and says he is in good health.

The miraculous healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre – who also suffered from Parkinson's Disease – paved the way for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, which took place in Rome in May 2011.

Read more: CNA

Benedict XVI officially declares Hildegard of Bingen a Saint

Benedict XVI officially declares Hildegard of Bingen a Saint

Commentary by Loci B. Lenar

In 2011 a DVD about the life of Hildegard von Bingen was released in the USA. Produced in Germany by Zeitgeist Films, Vision was originally released in 2009, but is available to purchase in a DVD format with English subtitles for the U.S. market.

My review of the film can be read at the the following link, Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen

***

The following excerpt is from Rome Reports.com:

Even though Hildegard of Bingen was already on the list of Catholic saints, she had not been officially canonized. So to remove all doubt, Benedict XVI extended the liturgical cult of St. Hildegard of Bingen, to the Universal Church, which automatically inscribes her in the catalogue of saints.

Hildegard of Bingen was from Germany. She's mostly known for her religious visions and prophecies. She lived in the XI and XII century, but even so, her message is still quite alive. The Pope has talked about her and her message in two general audiences.

Also, in coming months, the Pope is considering declaring her a Doctor of the Church for her high intelligence and feminine sensibility.

St. Hildegard was one of the most active women of her time. She wrote about theology and morals, but also about medicine and science. She even found the time to compose 78 musical pieces.

Pope John Paul II Destined for Sainthood

Pope John Paul II 

Former pope destined for sainthood

The following excerpt is from TheStarPhoenix.com:

A second miracle attributed to the late pope John Paul II has been reported and he could be made a saint soon, Italy's Panorama weekly said on Thursday, citing documents sent to the Vatican.

The miraculous healing occurred just weeks after John Paul II's beatification on May 1 last year, which put him on the path to sainthood just six years after his death and was attended by over a million people.

The first miracle attributed to the late pope was the healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, who recovered from Parkinson's disease.

To be officially certified as a miracle by the Catholic Church, healings have to be instantaneous, irreversible and without scientific explanation.

The second miracle, about which no details were reported, was chosen from among four reported miracles and documented by the promoter of Karol Wojtyla's canonization, Bishop Slowomir Oder, Panorama said.

The magazine said the case was being studied by experts from the Congregation for the Cause of Saints and, if it occurred, could lead to the canonization of the late pope within the next 12 months.

Read more: Pope Destined for Sainthood

Future Spanish saint's intercession cured 3-year-old

Future Spanish saint's intercession cured 3-year-old

The following excerpt is from the Catholic News Agency (CNA):

On Oct. 21, Spaniards will celebrate the canonization of Sister Carmen Salles y Barangueras, whose cause for sainthood was approved after her intercession caused the miraculous cure of a 3-year-old Brazilian girl suffering from a brain condition.

The miracle occurred in Sao Paolo in 1999 when 3 year-old Maria Isabel Gomes de Melo Gardelli was suffering from acute cerebral ischaemia, which left her with paralysis, deformities in her face.

With no hope of recovery, her treatments were stopped and her parents, themselves doctors, brought her home to care for her until her eventual passing. Together with Maria Isabel’s classmates at Maria Inmaculada School in Sao Paolo, the family began a novena to Sister Carmen Salles for a miraculous cure.

The postulator for Sister Carmen’s cause for canonization, Mother Maria Asuncion Valls Salip, told CNA it was “on the fifth day of the novena that she was cured…the prayers of children are very powerful.”

Doctors were skeptical that she was completely cured. Even if she received years of therapy and treatment, they said, she would be at serious risk of epilepsy and other secondary illnesses.
Since the time of her healing, Maria Isabel has undergone 27 different medical examinations “and absolutely no long-term effects remain,” Mother Valls said. Now at age 15, she has even been offered careers in modeling.

Mother Valls said she is also a “brilliant student” with “a great ability to comprehend.” “There is no doubt this is a miracle,” she added.

A recent CAT scan shows scars from her condition remain visible on her brain, which Mother Valls said demonstrate the miraculous nature of her recovery.

Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American woman to soon become a saint

Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American woman to become a blessed, soon a saint

The following excerpt is from RomeReports.com:

The first canonization of a Native American woman has been approved. Her name is Kateri Tekakwitha, but she's also known as “Lily of the Mohawks” and the patroness of American Indians. Last December, Benedict XVI cleared the way for her canonization, after a miracle was attributed to her.

The case deals with a young boy from Washington State, who was hospitalized for several months, after being diagnosed with a flesh eating disease. His case was serious, until his parish priest, asked his family and their parish to pray for the intercession of Kateri. Soon after, the family says, the boy began to heal without any medical explanation. 

Read more: Kateri Tekakwitha

Pope Advances Sainthood Causes of Marianne Cope and Kateri Tekakwitha

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta, NJ - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

Pope advances sainthood causes of Marianne Cope, Kateri Tekakwitha

The following excerpt is from the Catholic News Service:

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.

He also formally recognized the martyrdom of 64 victims of the Spanish Civil War and advanced the causes of 18 other men and women.

During a meeting Dec. 19 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the pope signed the decrees recognizing the miracles needed for the canonizations of Blesseds Marianne and Kateri.

Before a date is set for the canonization ceremonies, there must be an "ordinary public consistory," a formal ceremony opened and closed with prayer, during which cardinals present in Rome express their support for the pope's decision to create new saints.

Blessed Marianne, who worked as a teacher and hospital administrator in New York, spent the last 30 years of her life ministering on the Hawaiian island of Molokai to those with leprosy. She died on the island in 1918 at age 80 and was beatified in St. Peter's Basilica in 2005.

Blessed Kateri, known as the Lily of the Mohawks, was born to a Christian Algonquin mother and a Mohawk father in 1656 in upstate New York along the Hudson River. She was baptized by a Jesuit missionary in 1676 when she was 20, and she died in Canada four years later. In June 1980, she became the first Native American to be beatified.

Read more: Pope Advances Sainthood