Notes and Comments

Causes of Saints

At an Ordinary Public Consistory on May 19, 2018, Pope Francis declared the date of October 14, 2018 for the canonization of six Blesseds. Their paths to sainthood were cleared in March 2018 when he approved a series of decrees related to their causes. The six to be canonized:

• • Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini), Supreme Pontiff; born in Concesio, Italy, on 26 September 1897 and died at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on 6 August 1978.

• • Archbishop Oscar Arnolfo Romero Galdámez of San Salvador; born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador, on 15 August 1917 and killed in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 24 March 1980.

• • Reverend Francesco Spinelli, diocesan priest; founder of the Institute of the Sisters Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, born in Milan, Italy, on 14 April 1853 and died in Rivolta d’Adda, Italy, on 6 February 1913.

• • Reverend Vincenzo Romano, diocesan priest; born in Torre del Greco, Italy, on 3 June 1751 and died there on 20 December 1831.

• • Mother Maria Katharina Kasper, founder of the Institute of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ; born on 26 May 1820 in Dernbach, Germany, and died there on 2 February 1898.

• • Sister María Felicia of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (née María Felicia Guggiari Echeverría), professed nun of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites; born in Villarica, Paraguay on 12 January 1925, and died in Asunción, Paraguay, on 28 April 1959.

• • Anna Kolesárová, layperson; born in Vysoká nad Uhom, Slovakia, on 14 July 1928 and killed there in hatred of the faith on 22 November 1944.

In light of their heroic virtue the following venerable Servants of God were declared:

• • Reverend Bernardo Łubieński, professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer; born in Guzów, Poland, on 9 December 1846 and died in Warsaw, Poland, on 10 September 1933.

• • Cecilio Maria Cortinovis (né Antonio Pietro), professed religious of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; born in Nespello, Italy, on 7 November 1885 and died in Bergamo, Italy, on 10 April 1984.

• • Giustina Schiapparoli, founder of the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence of Voghera; born in Castel San Giovanni, Italy, on 19 July 1819 and died in Voghera, Italy, on 20 November 1877.

• • Maria Schiapparoli, founder of the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence of Voghera; born in Castel San Giovanni, Italy, on 19 April 1815 and died in Vespolate, Italy, on 2 May 1882.

• • Maria Antonella Bordoni, layperson, of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, founder of the Lay Fraternity of the Little Daughters of the Mother of God, now Little Daughters of the Mother of God; born on 13 October 1916 in Arezzo, Italy, and died in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on 16 January 1978.

• • Alessandra Sabattini, layperson; born on 19 August 1961 in Riccione, Italy, and died in Bologna, Italy on 2 May 1984.

In April 2018 Pope Francis authorized the decree recognizing eight new Venerable Servants of God. The group of three priests and five women religious come from India, Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Italy:

• • Father Varghese Payapilly, founder of the Sisters of the Destitute (SD). A priest of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam, India, sought to serve the poor, the destitute, and the aged often forsaken by their families or living on the street. He started a religious congregation in 1927, later called as the Sisters of the Destitute. His congregation conducts institutions serving those in need in India, including homes for the elderly and disabled, schools, and hospitals.

• • Father Emanuele Nunes Formigão, a diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the Religious Sisters of the Reparation of Our Lady of Fatima; born in Tomar (Portugal) on January 1, 1883, and died in Fatima on January 30, 1958.

• • Father Ludovico Longari, a member of the Congregation of Priests of the Most Holy Sacrament; born in Montodine (Italy) on June 20, 1889, and died in Ponteranica (Italy) on June 17, 1963.

• • Sister Elizabeth Bruyère, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa; born in L’Assomption (Canada) on March 19, 1818, and died in Ottawa on April...