VATICAN (CWNews.com) - Pope Pius IX will soon be beatified, and Pope John Paul XXIII declared "Venerable." These were among the noteworthy stories on December 20, as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints read a series of 18 new decrees concerning candidates for canonization and beatification.
Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins read the official decrees in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Eight of the decrees recognized the authenticity of miracles, with two of them clearing the way for canonization: of Blessed Maria Faustina and Joseph Marie de Yermo y Parres.
Six other miracles, attributed to candidates who have already been declared "Venerable," and will now be beatified. These include Pope Pius IX, Guillaume Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850), Emmanuel Gonzalez Garcia (1877-1940), Catherine Cittadini (1801-1857), Anne Eugénie Picco (1867-1921), and Charles Emmanuel Rodriguez Santiago (1918-1963).
Six other decrees recognize martyrs, who may also now be beatified. All of these candidates were killed in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War--in many cases, by firing squads that gunned down groups of Catholics at a time. The newly proclaimed martyrs are: Charles Emmanuel Rodriguez Santiago (1918- 1963) and five companions; 24 Carmelite nuns; Pascal Fortuno and three companions; Jacinto Serrano Lopez and 17 companions; Aurelio da Vinalesa and 16 companions, Josephine Masia Ferragut; Thomas Sitjar and 11 companions; and Joseph Calasanz Marquez and 31 companions.
Four more decrees recognize the "heroic virtue" practiced by candidates who will now be known as "Venerable." The first of these is Pope John XXIII, who will now be qualified for beatification as soon as a miracle is formally attributed to his intercession-- an approval which is expected to come soon, since a miracle has already been investigated thoroughly. The others are Sigismond Gorazdowski (1845-1920), a Polish priest; Hélène Silvestri (1839- 1907), an Italian nun; and Maria Conchita Cabrera Armeda (1862-1937), a Mexican mother.
According to Vatican sources, the beatification of Popes Pius IX and John XXIII is likely to take place on September 3, 2000, in a joint ceremony.
Catholic World News Service