Is Mother Teresa Truly a Saint?

As a result of the changes in the canonization process following Vatican II, there is reasonable concern to believe that modern beatifications and canonizations are no longer infallible.  As a result of this doubt and because of the heterodox comments by alleged saints including John XXIII and John Paul II, Catholics must ask themselves whether the process of canonization is truly infallible or not.  And if it is not infallible due to the modern changes to this most sacred process, what are we to think of modern canonizations like that yesterday of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Mr. John Vennari's article published in the Angelus Magazine: The New Canonizations - Doubt and Confusion summarizes the issues with the new process:

Speaking of the rigorous pre-Vatican procedure for beatifications, eminent Catholic historian William Thomas Walsh, who died in 1949, wrote the following: “No secular court trying a man for his life is more thorough and scrupulous than the Congregation of Rites in seeking to establish whether or not the servant of God practiced virtues both theological and cardinal, and to a heroic degree. If that is established, the advocate of the cause must next prove that his presence in Heaven has been indicated by at least two miracles, while a cardinal who is an expert theologian does all he can to discredit the evidence—hence his popular title of advocatus diaboli, or Devil’s Advocate. If the evidence survives every attempt to destroy it after months, years and sometimes centuries of discussion, he is then beatified, that is, he is declared to be blessed.”

We will later note the new 1983 process of canonization dispenses with the Devil’s Advocate, and eliminates the stringent juridical method in favor of an academic approach. The discarding of the “thorough and scrupulous” procedure praised by Mr. Walsh cannot help but introduce doubt to the integrity of the entire new process—especially in the case of “fast-track” canonizations.

Mr. Walsh further noted the following about the traditional process: “The final stage of canonization, the last of twenty distinct steps, may take even more years or centuries. It must be proved beyond any reasonable doubt that two additional miracles have been performed through the instance of the servant of God, since the beatification. When and if this is done, the Pope issues a bull (a sealed letter) of canonization.”

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As a result of these changes and in virtue of their manifest errors, the canonizations are John XXIII and John Paul II raise serious concerns as to the validity of modern canonizations. 

By the same logic, we must truly discern whether Mother Teresa is a saint (i.e. a person who at present is in Heaven and whose life is worthy of imitation by those on earth).   Marian T. Horvat in What about the Orthodoxy of Mother Teresa? addresses the issue well:

No one questions that she rendered care and assistance to the poor of Calcutta and championed the rights of the unborn. The problem lies in the matter of faith, the first and most important of the heroic virtues necessary to be proclaimed a blessed. It would seem that there would certainly be cause for examination of some statements of Mother Teresa that imply that salvation is possible in all different creeds and beliefs. I will rephrase the problem: Can someone who affirms or implies that the Catholic Church is not the only true Church – as she did – be beatified?

....

She is lauded as a great ecumenical teacher of prayer. Those who praise her spiritual meditations read like a line-up from an Assisi Prayer Encounter: a Jewish Rabbi, a Zen teacher, a Tibetan Buddhist master, a Protestant minister, and the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, among others. The latter, Bishop Anthony Pilla, calls the meditations “kernels of truth … deep in wisdom and spiritual insight”:

Here is one of those “kernels.” Mother Teresa stated:

“Some call Him Ishwar, some call Him Allah, some simply God, but we have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things: to love and be loved. What matters is that we love. We cannot love without prayer, and so whatever religion we are, we must pray together.”

This is not an isolated statement taken out of context. It is one of many such testimonials indicating Mother Teresa’s general attitude of indifference to what creed a man professed.(1) In this meditation, she shows an unorthodox notion of God, as well as a distorted notion of love. 

So, Mother Teresa presented a false supposition – that these “gods” are all the one true God Whom the Catholic Church adores. This assertion is completely wrong. It stands in opposition to simple natural reason and directly contradicts Catholic dogma.

It is hard to believe that Mother Teresa was beatified after making this kind of statement, which objectively reflects her typical thinking. It is likewise difficult to understand how Catholic authorities can praise such an assertion as a “kernel of truth.”

...

Therefore, when someone loves the true God, Who is all-good, this is a good thing. But if someone has affection toward something evil, toward something that he calls god but is really a devil, this is not a good thing. It is an evil passion, not a good love, and the person needs correction, not empathy. There are, in fact, limits set in love. St. Thomas Aquinas taught this clearly: Passions “are evil if the love is evil, and good if it is good” (3)

This teaching is missing, however, in the meditation of Mother Teresa on God.

  •  First, she assumed the false supposition that God is the same for Muslims, pagans and Catholics.

  •  Second, she simplified the notion of love, and implied that one can love both the good and the evil, that the object of one’s love is an indifferent subject. All that matters is love. This contradicts the teaching of basic Catholic Catechism that instructs us to love the true God above all things.

A nun, even a very popular one, who would state these two errors would normally not be a blessed or a saint, since to achieve this honor her teachings on matters of Faith could not contain error, even a slight error. This is crucial not only because it involves the honor and integrity of the Church, but also because a blessed must be model of salvation for the Catholic faithful.

I do pray that Mother Teresa is indeed a saint and that all of her good works for the salvation of souls and the care of the poor have canceled out the grave error in these words that seem to support the insidious notion of religious liberty.  There is only one True God - and we are all called to bring others to the Ark of Salvation by worshiping this One God in the one, true Catholic Church. 

Let us pray that those who now honor Mother Teresa as a saint will not follow her "kernels" that lead others to error and outside of the Ark of Salvation.

Lord help us and save Thy Church in this time of grave confusion!

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On the Power and Importance of the Holy Rosary

My Dear Brethren,

We are in the middle of the important month of the Holy Rosary, month of the great victories of Our Blessed Lady, through the Holy Rosary.  Sr. Lucy said that Our Blessed Lady has given more power to the Holy Rosary in view of the hard time that we were going to live, which are now, which is this terrible crisis in the Church. 

It is a great grace to be able to attend the Traditional Latin Mass once a week, or once or twice a month.  But on the other days, are you faithful to your daily rosary? It’s not enough to come to the Traditional mass in order to go to heaven.  You must do your personal part too to ask for God’s grace seven days a week, and that part is essentially prayer, specially the prayer of the Holy Rosary.  “He who prays will be saved, he who doesn’t pray will be condemned”, St Alphonsus says. 

To encourage you to be faithful to your daily rosary especially during this month of October, I would like to remind you, first, of the origin and history of the Holy Rosary, and then, in a second point, why the Holy Rosary is still so important for our present day history.  

First point: Origin of the Rosary

The year was 1214. St Dominic had already founded the Order of Preachers, later called, the Dominicans, and he was immediately faced with the heresy of the Albigenses which was spreading especially through the South of France, where St Dominic was. Our Lady appeared to him after he had been praying seriously and doing severe penance for many days in order to know how to fight the heretics.  She said to him: 

“Dear Dominic, do you know what weapon the Most Holy Trinity wants to use to reform the world?” St Dominic replied: “O my Lady, you know it much better than I do, because, next to your Son Jesus Christ, you have always been the instrument of our salvation.” Our Lady continued: “ I want you to know that in this kind of warfare the ‘battering ram’ has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the corner stone of the New Testament.  So, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them to God, preach my Psalter!” 

We need to explain Our Lady’s words. Firstly, she calls the battle St Dominic was waging against heresy, ‘a kind of warfare’ . Indeed there has always been a deadly fight between truth and error, virtue and vice.  Among other things, the Albigenses were destroying marriage and making people live in sin, and in order to save the souls deceived by these heresies, there had to be a serious fight, a real warfare. 

Then, Our Lady speaks of a ‘battering ram’, which is very symbolic too.  A battering ram is a large beam, sometimes a whole tree, handled by many men, or by a kind of a structure, that is used to open a large gate, or to make an opening in a wall.  It only works with the repetition of blows on the gate or the wall.  She compares the Rosary to a battering ram: all these Hail Mary’s knock down the power of the devil to weaken it. We can also say that they knock on the Heart of God as well to obtain the opening of the flood of graces.  “Knock and it shall be open”, Jesus said. 

Thirdly, Our Lady calls the Rosary “the Angelic Psalter”.  You are familiar with the book of Psalms, mostly written by King David, in the Old Testament.  There were 150 Psalms which the monks recited every week and still do, in fact. So the word Psalter means 150. Some of the monks in the monasteries who could not read or write would replace the recitation of the 150 Psalms, by 150 Our Fathers or Hail Marys. The Ave Maria is called the Angelic Salutation. So, when Our blessed Lady uses the words “The Angelic Psalter “and “My Psalter” , she refers to the 150 Ave Maria of the full rosary. 

Our Lady finally says that the Angelic Psalter “is the corner stone of the New Testament”.  The whole mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation began with the Annunciation, which opened with the Ave Maria. Our Lady’s consent to the words of the Angel Gabriel – “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord” - was a consent to the Incarnation of the Word of God, to become the Mother of God and our Mother, and also to be the Woman that would be in enmity with the serpent and crush his head. 

Let us now repeat the words of Our Lady to St Dominic: “I want you to know that in this kind of warfare the ‘battering ram’ has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the corner stone of the New Testament.  So, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them to God, preach my Psalter!” 

And St Dominic did it! And thousands of heretics were converted. A few hundred years later, Louis XIII, a French king, did it also in a war against the Protestants, and in thanksgiving for the victory, he built the famous church of Our Lady of Victories, in Paris.  The feast of Our Lady of Victories is on … October 7 th ! Later still, the first Dominican Pope, St Pius V used the rosary in the crusade against the Muslim Turks who were dangerously threatening to invade Europe. And the Rosary won again. It was October 7 th , 1571. And the list of the victories of the Rosary is long and continue until our own days. 

Is it surprising then that at Fatima, Our Blessed Lady urged the recitation of the rosary against the plague of communism? Whether it is against the Albigenses, the Protestants, the Muslim or the communists, “in this kind of warfare, our ‘battering ram’, the Rosary, must always be used. We have the promises of Our Lady and history on our side to prove it. 

Before I come to the second point, our own contemporary history, I want to remind you of a detail in the history of Fatima. The children of Fatima understood that the popes would have a very important role to play to obtain or to delay the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. They saw something truly tragic about this, so that they were constantly adding to their sacrifices:  “for the conversion of sinners and for the Holy Father”.   

Did they see that 7 popes would refuse to obey Our Lady’s request to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart, and that as a consequence Russia would spread its errors, and would cause hundreds of millions of deaths?  Did they see, as Cardinal Ciappi said, he who read the Third Secret of Fatima, that “the apostasy would start from the highest summit of the Church”? That would explain certain of the words and attitudes of the children of Fatima, and also why Sr Lucy was like paralyzed when it came to write down this Third Secret, in January 1944. 

Second Point: the need of the Rosary for our present history. 

“And for the Holy Father!”   O, yes, My Dear Brethren, we need to say the rosary, many rosaries for the Holy Father!  The situation in the Church is getting worse, and the present Holy Father, who is not a Father of Vatican II, like pope Benedict was, but a son of the Council, is showing in an alarming way how far can the principles of the Council go. 

So many of his acts show that sadly, very sadly, he is imbued with modernism.  For example, in his first encyclical on faith, Lumen Fidei, he confuses faith and charity.  These are two different theological virtues: faith is in the intellect and has for object the truth revealed by God and proposed by the Church, while Charity is in the will and has for object God as the supreme good.  Now the Holy Father in an encyclical – but now encyclicals seem to be more for the world at large than for the bishops, like they used to be -  says this: “Faith knows in the measure that it is linked to love, in the measure where love itself carries a light”.   When you read the encyclical, you do get the message that faith is merely a religious feeling based on love.  Well, that is exactly how St Pius X described modernism.  

Then, he has announced that he will canonize two of the popes of the Council: Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.  For the first one, they have even dispensed from the miracle which is the sign that the person has reached heaven. For John Paul II, I encourage you to read the book: Doubts on a Beatification which was published by Angelus Press.  Pope John Paul II has a different notion of the three virtues of Faith, hope and charity. Such canonizations – if God allows them – change the very notion of holiness, which is one of the four marks of the Church, and the goal of these canonizations is truly to canonize Vatican II and its errors which are destroying the Church. 

I cannot speak of everything which Pope Francis has already done, such as the terrible and scandalous World Youth Days in Brazil, last August, or his recent long interview with the Jesuits, where he says that Vatican II is irrevocable.  I simply want to mention another more recent interview given on October 2, to the Italian Newspaper “Reppublica”, which is run by an openly atheist editor. 

One of the first words of the pope to this editor Eugenio Scalfari was: “Proselytism is an pompous absurdity, it has no meaning”.  This means that we should not try to convert people.  This is not exactly what we read in the Gospel: “Go and preach the Gospel to every creature!” 

Mr. Scalfari, the editor of the newspaper, asked the pope if there was a unique vision of what is Good, and if so, who can decide this? The pope replied: “Every human being possesses his own vision of what is good, but also of what is evil.  Our task is to encourage him to follow the way shown by what he estimates is good.” And he insisted: “And I am ready to repeat this.

Everyone has his own conception of Good and Evil, and everyone must choose and follow good and fight evil according to the idea that he has.  That would be enough to live in a better world.” 

These worlds are terrible. They eliminate the Ten Commandments, and the whole role of the Church, guardian and sole interpreter of the Ten Commandments. 

We can understand why the children of Fatima prayed and suffered so much “for the Holy Father”. And Our Lady’s words as well: “Pray the Rosary daily!” 

Let me conclude with words of wisdom from the Imitation of Christ, a wisdom so important in dealing with present day history: If you see another man sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in a good state. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself. (I, 2) 

My Dear Brethren, do say your rosary every day, as Our Heavenly Mother has urged us, pray for the Holy Father. As you can see, his mind is filled with the modern errors. Pray the rosary for him. This is the best way for us to help him. And keep yourself free from sin. Go to confession frequently. Be faithful in your duty of state.   

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us and “for the Holy Father”!

Fr. Daniel Couture Sermon for October 2013 

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The Canonization of Pope John XXIII: It's Implication on Vatican II

The Hijacking of St. John XXIII’s Ecumenical Council   

This is a Guest Post By David Martin

When the announcement was made on September 30, 2013, that Pope John XXIII was going to be canonized, glaring eyebrows went up in the Traditionalist camp. After all, saints are usually martyr figures that are persecuted for their uncompromising fidelity to the Faith, and Pope John is generally regarded as the flaming modernist who compromised the Church by convoking the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962.

There is no disputing the disaster wrought by Vatican II and how it set into motion an insidious departure from tradition that has left the Holy City “half in ruins.” Even as we report on the canonization of John XXIII, the gale force of “his” conciliar tempest continues to uproot the Faith, blow apart revered Catholic practices, topple the Church's edifice, and spread doctrinal debris throughout the Church. So why the tribute? Should his “aggiornamento” be rewarded this way?
  
Pope John deserves tribute, but it’s important that people see his canonization in the right light and that they have the inside scoop on his true intentions for Vatican II, otherwise it will appear that heresy and modernism are being glorified. For he is known as the founding father of Vatican II, which is why modernists are now beaming over the prospect of his canonization, because their hope is to see Vatican II “canonized.” But the good Lord has His own reasons for glorifying His servant John, as we will see shortly.

Good Intentions

The fact is that Vatican II was started with the best of resolves. Pope John’s purpose for convening the Council was not to change the Church but to restate Holy Tradition, evidenced in his opening speech on October 11, 1962: “The major interest of the Ecumenical Council is this: that the sacred heritage of Christian truth be safeguarded and expounded with greater efficacy.”
(John XXIII)

Without diluting the Faith, the pope was simply trying to adopt a more effective means of projecting the orthodox Faith to the modern world. His “update” did not include the watering down of doctrine or the alteration of liturgy, but consisted in utilizing the media and state-of-the-art technology to better project the light of tradition to a spiritually darkened world.

After all, there were dangers threatening the Faith at that time, especially the evils of evolution and abortion. Apostasy was forthcoming and man was already on the eve of forgetting his Maker, so the pope was making a special effort to dispel the ensuing darkness and uphold the orthodox Faith “with greater efficacy.”

To this end he and his best men worked arduously for almost three years to draft up the outline for the Second Vatican Council, known as the 72 schemas or schemata. According to the most conservative thinkers of Rome, the preparatory schemata were orthodox and worthy of use, but modernists were enraged that the Holy Father had put together the preparatory outline without conferring with them beforehand. Hence a decision was made before the Council to block Pope John’s plan for Vatican II.

Council Hijacked

According to Michael Davies and many others, a number of "suspect theologians" hijacked the opening session of the Council by seizing control of its drafting commissions, thus enabling them to scrap Pope John's plan and draft a new agenda of their own. A key instigator of the pack was Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx of the Netherlands, a known heretic who denied the historicity of the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, and the Eucharist (Transubstantiation), and who had drafted and disseminated a 480-page critique aimed at rallying the progressive “Rhine bishops” to reject the original plan for Vatican II. The design of these progressivists was to revive Luther’s Reformation under the pretext of a renewal, something that Schillebeeckx openly confessed to.

Pope Benedict himself pointed out in 2013 how a “virtual council” had risen up to usurp the “real Council” at Vatican II, and lamented how “it created so many disasters, so many problems, so much suffering: seminaries closed, convents closed, banal liturgy.” (Benedict XVI, addressing the parish churches of Rome, February 14, 2013) This echoes the words of Paul VI who stated that the good efforts at Vatican II were hampered by “the devil” who came along “to suffocate the fruits of the Ecumenical Council.” (June 29, 1972) Hence it is worth recounting the opening session so that we have a clearer perspective of what really took place at the Second Vatican Council.

At the center of the coup to overthrow the Council were Cardinals Alfrink, Frings, and Lienart      of the Rhine Alliance. A crucial vote was to be taken to determine the members of the conciliar drafting commissions when Cardinal Lienart, a 30th degree Freemason, seized the microphone during a speech and demanded that the slate of 168 candidates be discarded and that a new slate of candidates be drawn up. His uncanny gesture was heeded by the Council and the election was postponed. Lienart’s action deflected the course of the Council and made history, and was hailed a victory in the press. The date was October 13, 1962, the 45th Anniversary of Our Lady’s last apparition at Fatima. (Fr. Ralph Wiltgen, the Rhine Flows into the Tiber)

In his February 14, 2013, address to the clergy of Rome, Pope Benedict brilliantly recounts this incident at Vatican II: “On the programme for this first day were the elections of the Commissions, and lists of names had been prepared, in what was intended to be an impartial manner, and these lists were put to the vote. But right away the Fathers said: 'No, we do not simply want to vote for pre-prepared lists. We are the subject.' Then, it was necessary to postpone the elections, because the Fathers themselves…wanted to prepare the lists themselves. And so it was. Cardinal Liénart of Lille and Cardinal Frings of Cologne had said publicly: no, not this way. We want to make our own lists and elect our own candidates."

The above statement is of no small significance. Herein Benedict confesses that Lienart and his clique rejected the list of candidates that John XXIII had rightfully approved in an “impartial manner,” so that they in turn could create their own list and elect their own candidates in a partial manner. And that’s exactly what they did!

When the "election" resumed, a number of radical theologians were then appointed to chair the commissions, including Hans Kung, Karl Rahner, de Lubac, Schillebeeckx and others whose writings had been blacklisted under Pius XII. The liberals now occupied nearly 60% of the seats, giving them the needed power to steer the Council in their direction. Thereupon they proceeded to trash the pope’s carefully prepared agenda that had taken nearly three years to formulate.

Through deceitful promises and skillful use of the media, the Council approved their plan for a new Mass on December 7, 1962, known as the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” and this became the hub of the liturgical reform that was to set the Church on a new revolutionary course of change. The Constitution was principally the work of the infamous Annibale Bugnini whom the pope had earlier removed from two posts because of sinister activity. It in fact was the outgrowth of the one preparatory schema, drafted by Bugnini, which Vatican liberals had spared because of its designs for a new Mass. Note that Bugnini, and not the pope, was the author of the New Mass.

What is mind boggling is the dictatorial force wherewith the conciliar elite took the law into their own hands and were able to junk Pope John’s outline for Vatican II without a rebuttal. With the procedural rules laid down by the pope a mere one-third vote was needed to get the schemata passed, which in fact did pass by a 40% vote. But the Rhine fathers stirred up a ruckus and insisted that this minority vote not be honored in favor of the 60% vote against the schemata, even telling the pope, “This is inadmissible!” They abhorred the orthodoxy of the preparatory outline with its strict formulations and resented the idea of having it imposed upon them by a pope who “clung to the old absolute traditions.”

The pope, fearing a tumult, backed down and consented to let the Rhine fathers have their way against game rules. Though he had planned it differently, his strength failed him at this point, thus allowing the pirates of reform to wrest the Council from his hands. Hence the most meticulous and painstaking preparation ever undertaken for any council of Church history was suddenly dumped to the glee of this Council confederacy. Only the liturgical schema remained.

We gather that Cardinal Tisserant, the key draftsman of the 1962 Moscow-Vatican Treaty who presided at the opening session, was at the center of this coup to usurp the Vatican Council. According to Jean Guitton, the famous French academic, Tisserant had showed him a painting of himself and six others, and told him, “This picture is historic, or rather, symbolic. It shows the meeting we had before the opening of the Council when we decided to block the first session
by refusing to accept the tyrannical rules laid down by John XXIII.” (Vatican II in the Dock, 2003)

This story of what happened at Vatican II is well documented and has been told in great depth by the most qualified witnesses, including Father Ralph Wiltgen, Monsignor Bandas, Michael Davies, Cardinal Heenan and many others. Archbishop Lefebvre who was on the Central Preparatory Committee for checking and overseeing all the Council documents had this to say:

“From the very first days, the Council was besieged by the progressive forces. We experienced it, felt it…We had the impression that something abnormal was happening and this impression was rapidly confirmed; fifteen days after the opening session not one of the seventy-two schemas remained. All had been sent back, rejected, thrown into the waste-paper basket…The immense work that had been found accomplished was scrapped and the assembly found itself empty-handed, with nothing ready. What chairman of a board meeting, however small the company, would agree to carry on without an agenda and without documents? Yet that is how the Council commenced.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Open Letter to Confused Catholics, 1986)

And this is how the modern reform was born. Pope John’s agenda for Vatican II would never resurrect from that point, but would remain buried even to this day. The rebellious “virtual council” would now proceed to put together the Vatican II we know today, including its sixteen documents and its reform of liturgy. The documents would contain elements of orthodoxy here and there, but this would only be done for cosmetic purposes. Under the pretext of a “restoration” or “reform,” the documents would apologize for tradition and attempt to unite the Catholic Church with other world religions on secular terms. That is to say, the documents themselves, and not any misinterpretation thereof, would generate the problems ahead since they would largely be penned by Peter’s enemies, and not his friends. “By their fruits you shall know them.” (Mt. 7:20)

Pope John XXIII’s reluctance in releasing the Third Secret of Fatima in 1960 undoubtedly caused him unspeakable sorrow for the rest of his life, for he was now witnessing the tragic fulfillment of the Fatima Secret. The very forces of hell marched into Rome to take the Holy City captive, which was accomplished through the conciliar apparatus provided them by the rebellious Rhine fathers and their periti. This is not to say that the gates of hell had fully prevailed against the Church, but that we had arrived at that point in history when the Church would be handed over to the Gentiles, at which time “they shall tread the holy city under foot two and forty months.” (Apocalypse 11:2)

It is said that the pope was struck to the heart, and in great pain, so that the cancer he had earlier contracted was greatly augmented now, leaving him only eight months to live. On his deathbed he cried out: “Stop the Council, Stop the Council,” but his “trusty” aides made sure that this didn’t circulate to the other cardinals. The Council was already too well advanced, the liberals had put too much stock in their revolution, so they weren’t about to give up their fun at this point.

Fissure Created

Pope John certainly made some mistakes, he wasn’t perfect. Perhaps the biggest mistake he made was to convoke the Second Vatican Council, since it provided an opening for the hidden enemy to infiltrate the Church. According to Pope Paul VI, the Council of Vatican II was that “fissure” through which “the smoke of satan entered into the temple of God.” (June 29, 1972) Even the future Pope Paul was alarmed when he learned in January 1959 that Pope John had announced the upcoming Council, to which he responded: “This holy old boy doesn’t realize what a hornet’s nest he’s stirring up!” Clearly he didn’t realize it.

Nay, the calling of Vatican II wasn’t too smart, but was a huge blunder which showed poor judgment and terrible foresight. We might even say the pope was playing Russian roulette with the Church, literally. Were not the representatives of the Soviet Union present at Vatican II with a plan to get their clenched fist agenda implemented in a spiritual way with “human rights” and the “empowerment of the laity?” Maybe Pope John should have heeded those prophets that had been forecasting disaster. Popes Pius X, XI, and XII had all refrained from calling a council, fearing it would hatch the very problems we have today. But the pope somehow believed it was now time for a Council.

However we have to remember that saints are not canonized for their smarts, talents, or administrative skills, but for their charity. And this, Pope John was loaded with. He was big hearted and wanted to extend the benevolence of God to all, and somehow was convinced that a united effort at the Vatican Council would avert the impending doom that hung over the world. Unfortunately his “virtuous fault” of refusing to see the evil in his fellow man blinded him to the reality of infiltrated Judases, and allowed these enemies to countermand and overrun him.

Pope John has sometimes been criticized for quietly lifting the ban on some of these suspect theologians whose activities were formerly restricted by Pius XII, but conservatives have faltered in not recognizing his good intentions. The traditional Monsignor Rudolph Bandas who was one of the brilliant and outstanding periti at Vatican II understood clearly how John XXIII was being overrun and abused, and had this to say: “No doubt good Pope John thought that these suspect theologians would rectify their ideas and perform a genuine service to the Church. But exactly the opposite happened. Supported by certain Rhine Council fathers, and often acting in a manner positively boorish, they turned around and exclaimed: ‘Behold, we are named experts, our ideas stand approved.”’

Pope John’s vision of Vatican II was truly noble and well intending, though he was naïve. This excerpt from his opening speech nicely reflects his pastoral spirit: “The great desire, therefore, of the Catholic Church in raising aloft at this Council the torch of truth, is to show herself to the world as the loving mother of all mankind; gentle, patient, and full of tenderness and sympathy for her separated children.”

Unfortunately this kind of talk made Vatican II progressives sick. The good pope didn’t realize he was going to get clobbered for this. The fact is that Pope John XXIII was viciously stabbed in the back by those he trusted. When they wanted their way with him they would crouch and kiss his ring, and in the next hour or minute they were plotting on how they would take Vatican II away from him.

For instance Monsignor Bugnini, a notorious Freemason and sweet-talker, assured the pope that he was most committed to fostering a deepened love and appreciation for the liturgy. So the pope blindly entrusted to him the task of heading the new Preparatory Commission on the Liturgy that was established on June 6, 1960, believing that a deepened love for the old Mass would result from this. But what he failed to realize is that Bugnini and his cohorts were secretly at work drafting up a new Mass for the Church which they were determined to get passed at Vatican II.

And it did pass with flying colors! The Bugnini Schema superseded all the other schemas and became the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy on December 7, 1962. (Later called Sacrosanctum Concilium) This was the document that directly led to the implementation of the New Mass in the vernacular. Yet the pope in 1960 had no idea what Bugnini and his men were cooking up for the Council. The conservative Cardinal Heenan of Westminster even says in his autobiography that “Pope John did not suspect what was being planned by the liturgical experts.”

If it wasn’t bad enough that the good pope had to endure spiritual martyrdom from the devil and his agents, let us take a look at his actual death on June 3, 1963. The unofficial word is that Pope John XXIII was murdered. For when he began crying out from his deathbed to “Stop the Council,” his death suddenly ensued. Though he was ill with terminal cancer, he wasn’t supposed to die quite so soon. As they saw it, it was urgent that his outcry be silenced, so they gave him a little extra sedative to calm his nerves. We have to remember that euthanasia didn’t start with Obamacare, but existed in the hospitals even back then.

Needless to say, John XXIII was persecuted and laid low. The allegations from the Sedevacantist camp that he was a Freemason display ignorance and have contributed to his martyrdom of spirit. It was the Freemasons that generated the revolt at Vatican II, but a key part of their plan was to hide and shift the blame onto the pope in order to sell their revolution and smear the pope’s reputation. Pseudo traditionalists by their detraction have effectively and unknowingly assisted the Masonic plan to discredit the papacy in these latter times.

The Pope’s own Words

If nothing else convinces us of Pope John’s innocence, we turn to his own words: “I repeat once more that what matters most in this life is: our blessed Jesus Christ, his holy Church, his Gospel, and in the Gospel above all else the Our Father according to the mind and heart of Jesus, and the truth and goodness of his Gospel, goodness, which must be meek and kind, hardworking and patient, unconquerable and victorious.”

This angelic philosophy echoes what the saints of history have said concerning our purpose in life. Sanctity means being Christ centered with a burning aspiration to bring all men to the love and knowledge of God. With this very aspiration the pope in his opening speech at Vatican II expressed the intentions of the Council: “Its intention is to give to the world the whole of that doctrine which, notwithstanding every difficulty and contradiction, has become the common heritage of mankind—to transmit it in all its purity, undiluted, undistorted. It is a treasure of incalculable worth, not indeed coveted by all, but available to all men of good will.”

Are these the words of a Freemason, a Judas, a progressivist? Or are these rather the words of a  saint? Would that the pope and bishops of today would speak this way! The Church’s mission for 2000 years has been precisely to bring this deposit of Faith to mankind so that, if it were possible, the entire earth would be enkindled with its flame. The Traditional Roman Faith is that sacred legacy which God originally intended as “the common heritage of mankind,” though the Reformation did much to destroy this ecclesial unity, as did its reemergence at Vatican II.

What is needed today is a true renewal of Catholic tradition, so that the Mystical Body can once again be whole as in former times, with unity and soundness. What is needed is what John XXIII originally prescribed in his opening speech at Vatican II: “…that this doctrine shall be more widely known, more deeply understood, and more penetrating in its effects on men’s moral lives. What is needed is that this certain and immutable doctrine, to which the faithful owe obedience, be studied afresh.”

As John XXIII is raised to the altars of Holy Mother the Church this April 27, 2014, let us be encouraged to assume a new perspective of holy pontiff whereby we cease from blaming him for all the problems that have ravaged the Church since Vatican II. He made some mistakes which he had to pay dearly for. May he now be rewarded for all the good he proposed and all the evil he endured.

And especially, may we be resolved to assist him and his Maker in the cause of restoring the Holy Roman Catholic Church to its former glory. St. John XXIII, pray for us!

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Conciliar Canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II?

The following is taken from Traditional Catholic Remnant.

So it has been recently confirmed that two of the revolutionary Vatican II popes – John XXIII and John Paul II – will be “canonized” by Francis I this December. This news, especially the “canonization” of JPII, comes as no surprise, given the “saint factory” the conciliar church is. Of course two of the worst men to sit in the Chair of Peter are going to be given an honorary “seal of approval” by their modernist successors.

John XXIII reigned from 1958 to 1963. The first of the revolutionary popes, John XXIII was the one who called for a Second Vatican Council, which began in 1962. He died before its completion. There are rumors that he shouted on his deathbed “Stop the Council! Stop the Council!”. This theory leads some Traditionalists to believe that he wasn’t all that bad compared to his successors. However, while I would certainly hope that John XXIII repented of his wicked ways, this claim has never been proven. Thus, our opinion of him should remain that he was a horrible leader for the Church, and was likely a Masonic infiltrator. His successor, Paul VI (who is expected to be “beatified” by the conciliar church soon), who was even more diabolical than his predecessor, was likely an infiltrator as well.

John Paul II reigned from 1978 to 2005, making his reigns one of the longest in Church history. It was also one of the worst, and perhaps THE worst behind only Paul VI. His papacy included a covering up of a plethora of sex abuse cases, two blasphemous inter-religious meetings at Assisi, a phony so-called “third secret” of Fatima released in 2000, and of course, the “excommunication” of Archbishop Lefebvre and the SSPX. Despite his shameful reign, he’s on the way to “sainthood” nevertheless.

Given that Francis is simply another John XXIII or JPII himself, it’s not surprising that he’s cleared these two liberals to be “canonized”. And Paul VI will likely be next. These modernists need to be excommunicated, not “canonized”! How about Canonizing Archbishop Lefebvre instead? But no, instead he’s considered “excommunicated” while these conciliarists are on the way to so-called “sainthood”.

And while these two are on the way to “sainthood”, Popes who are TRULY worthy of Canonization – such as Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII – are ignored. Of course, these Popes had the true Catholic Faith, their Doctrine was undeniably Catholic and contrary to what these conciliarists teach. So to Canonize them would be contrary to their own beliefs, thus why they’re likely being snubbed.

What did Archbishop Lefebvre have to say about these conciliar Popes?

“We must not be afraid to affirm that the current Roman authorities, since John XXIII and Paul VI, have made themselves active collaborators of international Jewish Freemasonry and of world socialism. John Paul II is above all a communist-loving politician at the service of a world communism retaining a hint of religion. He openly attacks all of the anti-communist governments and does not bring, by his travels, any Catholic revival.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, “Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography” by Bishop Tissier, pp. 602-603)

The Archbishop’s words, as usual, are spot-on. Let us not be deceived by these conciliar popes, who are simply wolves in sheep’s clothing. I will conclude with the words of a Pope who was truly worthy of Canonization, the great Pope St. Pius X:

“They [modernists] want to be treated with oil, soap and caresses. But they should be beaten with fists. In a duel, you don’t count or measure the blows, you strike as you can.”

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Pope Restores Papal Fanon While Canonizing 7 New Saints

As reported this morning by the New Liturgical Movement, the Holy Father while presiding over the canonization of seven new saints restored the use of the Papal Fanon.  As explained by the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Papal Fanon is "a shoulder-cape worn by the pope alone, consisting of two pieces of white silk ornamented with narrow woven stripes of red and gold; the pieces are nearly circular in shape but somewhat unequal in size and the smaller is laid on and fastened to the larger one.."

The 7 Newly Declared Saints:

1. Kateri Tekakwitha, the young Mohawk woman who converted to Catholicism, will become the first Native American canonized as a saint. 
2. Marianne Cope, a German nun who followed St. Damien of Molokai in ministering to lepers in Hawaii
3. Jacques Berthieu, a French Jesuit
4. Pedro Calungsod, a Filipino lay catechist and martyr
5. Giovanni Battista Piamarta, an Italian priest
6. Maria del Carmen (nee Maria Salles y Barangueras), the Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching
7. Anna Schaffer, a German lay woman.

Saint Marianne Cope

The Holy Father's Sermon from the Canonization Mass is as follows:

The Son of Man came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (cf. Mk 10:45)
Dear Brother Bishops,Dear brothers and sisters!

Today the Church listens again to these words of Jesus, spoken by the Lord during his journey to Jerusalem, where he was to accomplish the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection. They are words which enshrine the meaning of Christ’s mission on earth, marked by his sacrifice, by his total self-giving. On this third Sunday of October, on which we celebrate World Mission Sunday, the Church listens to them with special attention and renews her conviction that she should always be fully dedicated to serve mankind and the Gospel, after the example of the One who gave himself up even to the sacrifice of his life.

I extend warm greetings to all of you who fill Saint Peter’s Square, especially the official delegations and the pilgrims who have come to celebrate the seven new saints. I greet with affection the Cardinals and Bishops who, during these days, are taking part in the Synodal Assembly on the New Evangelization. The coincidence between this ecclesiastical meeting and World Mission Sunday is a happy one; and the word of God that we have listened to sheds light on both subjects. It shows how to be evangelizers, called to bear witness and to proclaim the Christian message, configuring ourselves to Christ and following his very path. This is true both for the mission ad Gentes and for the new evangelization in places with ancient Christian roots.

The Son of Man came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (cf. Mk 10:45)
These words were the blueprint for living of the seven Blessed men and women that the Church solemnly enrols this morning in the glorious ranks of the saints. With heroic courage they spent their lives in total consecration to the Lord and in the generous service of their brethren. They are sons and daughters of the Church who chose the path of service following the Lord. Holiness always rises up in the Church from the well-spring of the mystery of redemption, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading: the Servant of the Lord is the righteous one who “shall make many to be accounted as righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities” (Is 53:11); he is Jesus Christ, crucified, risen and living in glory. Today’s canonization is an eloquent confirmation of this mysterious saving reality. The tenacious profession of faith of these seven generous disciples of Christ, their configuration to the Son of Man shines out brightly today in the whole Church.

Jacques Berthieu, born in 1838 in France, was passionate about Jesus Christ at an early age. During his parish ministry, he had the burning desire to save souls. Becoming a Jesuit, he wished to journey through the world for the glory of God. A tireless pastor on the island of Sainte Marie, then in Madagascar, he struggled against injustice while bringing succour to the poor and sick. The Malagasies thought of him as a priest come down from heaven, saying, You are our “father and mother!” He made himself all things to all men, drawing from prayer and his love of the sacred heart of Jesus the human and priestly force to face martyrdom in 1896. He died, saying “I prefer to die rather than renounce my faith”. Dear friends, may the life of this evangelizer be an encouragement and a model for priests that, like him, they will be men of God! May his example aid the many Christians of today persecuted for their faith! In this Year of Faith, may his intercession bring forth many fruits for Madagascar and the African Continent! May God bless the Malagasy people!

Pedro Calungsod was born around the year sixteen fifty-four, in the Visayas region of the Philippines. His love for Christ inspired him to train as a catechist with the Jesuit missionaries there. In sixteen sixty-eight, along with other young catechists, he accompanied Father Diego Luís de San Vitores to the Marianas Islands in order to evangelize the Chamorro people. Life there was hard and the missionaries also faced persecution arising from envy and slander. Pedro, however, displayed deep faith and charity and continued to catechize his many converts, giving witness to Christ by a life of purity and dedication to the Gospel. Uppermost was his desire to win souls for Christ, and this made him resolute in accepting martyrdom. He died on the second of April, sixteen seventy-two. Witnesses record that Pedro could have fled for safety but chose to stay at Father Diego’s side. The priest was able to give Pedro absolution before he himself was killed. May the example and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and to win souls for God!

Giovanni Battista Piamarta, priest of the Diocese of Brescia, was a great apostle of charity and of young people. He raised awareness of the need for a cultural and social presence of Catholicism in the modern world, and so he dedicated himself to the Christian, moral and professional growth of the younger generations with an enlightened input of humanity and goodness. Animated by unshakable faith in divine providence and by a profound spirit of sacrifice, he faced difficulties and fatigue to breathe life into various apostolic works, including the Artigianelli Institute, Queriniana Publishers, the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth for men, and for women the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord. The secret of his intense and busy life is found in the long hours he gave to prayer. When he was overburdened with work, he increased the length of his encounter, heart to heart, with the Lord. He preferred to pause before the Blessed Sacrament, meditating upon the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, to gain spiritual fortitude and return to gaining people’s hearts, especially the young, to bring them back to the sources of life with fresh pastoral initiatives.

“May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you” (Ps 32:22). With these words, the liturgy invites us to make our own this hymn to God, creator and provider, accepting his plan into our lives. María Carmelo Sallés y Barangueras, a religious born in Vic in Spain in 1848, did just so. Filled with hope in spite of many trials, she, on seeing the progress of the Congregation of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching, which she founded in 1892, was able to sing with the Mother of God, “His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50). Her educational work, entrusted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, continues to bear abundant fruit among young people through the generous dedication of her daughters who, like her, entrust themselves to God for whom all is possible.

I now turn to Marianne Cope, born in eighteen thirty-eight in Heppenheim, Germany. Only one year old when taken to the United States, in eighteen sixty-two she entered the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis at Syracuse, New York. Later, as Superior General of her congregation, Mother Marianne willingly embraced a call to care for the lepers of Hawaii after many others had refused. She personally went, with six of her fellow sisters, to manage a hospital on Oahu, later founding Malulani Hospital on Maui and opening a home for girls whose parents were lepers. Five years after that she accepted the invitation to open a home for women and girls on the island of Molokai itself, bravely going there herself and effectively ending her contact with the outside world. There she looked after Father Damien, already famous for his heroic work among the lepers, nursed him as he died and took over his work among male lepers. At a time when little could be done for those suffering from this terrible disease, Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm. She is a shining and energetic example of the best of the tradition of Catholic nursing sisters and of the spirit of her beloved Saint Francis.

Kateri Tekakwitha was born in today’s New York state in sixteen fifty-six to a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother who gave to her a sense of the living God. She was baptized at twenty years of age and, to escape persecution, she took refuge in Saint Francis Xavier Mission near Montreal. There she worked, faithful to the traditions of her people, although renouncing their religious convictions until her death at the age of twenty-four. Leading a simple life, Kateri remained faithful to her love for Jesus, to prayer and to daily Mass. Her greatest wish was to know and to do what pleased God. She lived a life radiant with faith and purity. Kateri impresses us by the action of grace in her life in spite of the absence of external help and by the courage of her vocation, so unusual in her culture. In her, faith and culture enrich each other! May her example help us to live where we are, loving Jesus without denying who we are. Saint Kateri, Protectress of Canada and the first native American saint, we entrust to you the renewal of the faith in the first nations and in all of North America! May God bless the first nations!

Anna Schaeffer, from Mindelstetten, as a young woman wished to enter a missionary order. She came from a poor background so, in order to earn the dowry needed for acceptance into the cloister, she worked as a maid. One day she suffered a terrible accident and received incurable burns on her legs which forced her to be bed-ridden for the rest of her life. So her sick-bed became her cloister cell and her suffering a missionary service. She struggled for a time to accept her fate, but then understood her situation as a loving call from the crucified One to follow him. Strengthened by daily communion, she became an untiring intercessor in prayer and a mirror of God’s love for the many who sought her counsel. May her apostolate of prayer and suffering, of sacrifice and expiation, be a shining example for believers in her homeland, and may her intercession strengthen the Christian hospice movement in its beneficial activity.

Dear brothers and sisters, these new saints, different in origin, language, nationality and social condition, are united among themselves and with the whole People of God in the mystery of salvation of Christ the Redeemer. With them, we too, together with the Synod Fathers from all parts of the world, proclaim to the Lord in the words of the psalm that he “is our help and our shield” and we invoke him saying, “may your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you” (Ps 32:20.22). May the witness of these new saints, and their lives generously spent for love of Christ, speak today to the whole Church, and may their intercession strengthen and sustain her in her mission to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world.

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Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Declared Venerable

Image Source: Facebook Page of Andy Schmalen

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen's Cause of Canonization.  On June 28, 2012, the Holy Father officially declared Fulton J Sheen as "Venerable", bringing him one step closer to sainthood.

In a private audience today with prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, Pope Benedict XVI approved the “heroic virtue” Fulton J. Sheen, thereby officially opening his cause for canonization.

The American archbishop and former bishop of Rochester New York lived from 1895-1979. He was best known his 20 years of evangelical work on radio and television. Before Archbishop Sheen’s cause can advance towards beatification, the Pope must approve at least one miracle attributed to his intercession.

Others honored in the same decree as servants of God include the first prelate of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, Alvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano (1914-1994), a Canadian widow and founder of the Handmaidens of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Marie of the Sacred Heart (1806-1885), and American founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, Mary Angeline Teresa (1893-1984). There were also a number of martyrs on the list, including 154 martyrs of the Spanish civil war.

Zenit News

CatechismClass.com proudly include excerpts from Sheen's many literary masterpieces, including his Life of Christ, throughout its lessons.

We are all very pleased to celebrate this year the 10th Anniversary of the Opening of his cause.  Please join with us in praying for his canonization.

Heavenly Father, source of all holiness, You raise up within the Church in every age men and women who serve with heroic love and dedication.  You have blessed your Church through the life and ministry of Your faithful servant, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.  He has written and spoken well of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and was a true instrument of the Holy Spirit in touching the hearts of countless people.

If it be according to Your Will, for the honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity and for the salvation of souls, we ask You to move the Church to proclaim him a saint.  We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen

Imprimatur:

+Most Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C.
Bishop of Peoria

In honor of the life of the Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen, CatechismClass.com is offering 30% off on its summary of Sheen's Life is Worth Living and their series on The Life of Christ. 

Simply enter discount code SheenCause10 and receive 30% off either of these items.  This discount, which is in honor of Fulton J Sheen's Cause of Canonization, will only last for a week!

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Pope Approves 16 Decrees for Saints' Causes

The Pope today authorized these decrees of martyrdom, along with five decrees recognizing miracles, and four decrees declaring heroic virtue.

One of those recognized to have gained a miracle through his intercession is already beatified, meaning canonization is just a step away. This is Blessed Guido Maria Conforti, Italian archbishop and founder of the Pious Society of St. Francis Xavier for Foreign Missions (1865-1931).

The other four who gained miracles through their intercession are recognized as Servants of God:

-- Francesco Paleari, Italian priest of the "Cottolengo" Institute (1863-1939).

-- Anna Maria Janer Anglarill, Spanish founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Holy Family of Urgell (1800-1885).

-- Marie Clare of the Child Jesus (born Libania do Carmo Galvao Meixa de Moura Telles e Albuquerque), Portuguese founder of the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (1843-1899).

-- Dulce (born Maria Rita Lopes Pontes), Brazilian religious of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (1914-1992).

The martyrs recognized by the Pope's decree are Servants of God:

-- Alois Andritzki, German diocesan priest who died in the concentration camp of Dachau (1914-1943).

-- Jose Nadal y Guiu (1911-1936) and Jose Jordan y Blecua (1906-1936), Spanish diocesan priests, killed in hatred of the faith during religious persecution in Spain.

-- Antonio (born Miguel Faundez Lopez), Spanish professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor (1907-1936) and Bonaventura (born Baltasar Mariano Munoz Martinez) Spanish cleric of the Order of Friars Minor (1912-1936), as well as Pedro Sanchez Barba (1895-1936) and Fulgencio Martinez Garcia (1911-1936), Spanish priests and pastors of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi, killed in hatred of the faith during religious persecution in Spain.


Heroic virtues were recognized for the following four people, now Servants of God:

-- Antonio Palladino, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1881-1926).

-- Bechara (born Selim Abou-Mourad), Lebanese religious of the Basilian Salvatorian Order of the Melkites (1853-1930).

-- Maria Elisa Andreoli, Italian founder of the Congregation of Reparatrix Sisters Servants of Mary (1861-1935).

-- Maria Pilar of the Sacred Heart (born Maria Pilar Solsona Lamban), Spanish religious of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Religious of Pious Schools (1881-1966).

Source: Zenit

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Upcoming Canonization of Br. Andre

Zenit Reports:

A celebration of Catholicism in Canada is perhaps the best way to describe the events leading up to the canonization of Blessed Brother André Bessett on Sunday at St. Peter's in Rome.

As many as 5,000 Canadian Catholics are making the pilgrimage to Rome to attend the proclamation of Brother André as Canada's first native-born male saint, according to Eric Durocher, coordinator for English Pastoral Services for the Archdiocese of Montreal.

Additionally, the Archdiocese of Montreal has organized several events for the pilgrims that have chosen to celebrate the canonization of Brother André in the city where he served for most of his ministry.

St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, which was founded by Brother André in 1904, will be the central focus for activities before and during the canonization ceremonies. An all night prayer vigil will be held at the Oratory; uniting pilgrims in Rome and in Canada in prayerful reflection and celebration of Brother André’s spiritual life and heritage.

Throughout the overnight vigil, activities are planned in conjunction with the Congregation of the Holy Cross Fathers, the community to which St. André belonged, and the Archdiocese of Montreal. The events of the vigil will begin with a Lucenarium (candlelight prayer) followed with presentations of lectures on the life of Brother André by groups with which he was closely associated.

Night prayer in the style of the Monastery of Taizé is followed with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the celebration of lauds (morning prayer), and finally a procession from the tomb of Brother André to the Basilica of St. Joseph.

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Cause for the Canonization of 17 Laotian Martyrs Moves Forward

The beatification process for 17 martyrs who died in Laos between 1954 and 1970 is moving forward. The diocesan phase for 15 of the martyrs concluded in France; two others are already in the Roman phase.

The martyrs were religious and lay missionaries: five French women religious and an Italian member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate; five members of the Paris Society for Foreign Missions and five Laotians (a priest and four laymen, including a catechist of the Hmong ethnic group).

Source: Zenit

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Dates for 7 Upcoming Beatifications Confirmed

Zenit Reports this glorious news.  Deo Gratias!

The Vatican has confirmed dates for seven upcoming beatifications, including that of Manuel "Lolo" Lozano Garrido, a Spanish journalist hailed as a layperson's example of sanctity.

Lozano Garrido (1920-1971) will be beatified in his hometown of Linares, Spain, on June 12.

Lolo wrote for various media, including the daily "Ya" and the Associated Press. In 1942 he began to suffer from spondylitis, which left him an invalid and blind. He eventually founded Sinai, a magazine for sick people. He also authored nine books, which he dictated to his sister and his friends.

Also on the list to be beatified is the chaplain of the Polish Solidarity movement, Father Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984). The 37-year-old priest was assassinated by Communist secret service agents. He will be beatified June 6 in Warsaw, Poland.

The other five beatifications will take place this month and next, two in Spain, and three in Italy.

Jesuit Father Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos will be beatified April 18 in Valladolid, Spain.

Carmelite Father Angelo Paoli will be beatified April 25 in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

Capuchin Friar José Tous y Soler, founder of the Institute of the Capuchin sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd, will be beatified April 25 in Barcelona, Spain.

Franciscan Teresa Manganiello, inspirer of the Congregation of the Franciscan Immaculatine Sisters, will be beatified May 22 in Benevento, Italy.

Finally, Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception in Buenos Aires will be beatified May 30 in Rome.

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Seven Recognized as Venerable, Six Miracles Recognized, Three Martyrs Recognized

Zenit reports the following noteworthy news:

Sister Henriette Delille, founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, is one of seven to be recognized as venerable with decrees authorized by Benedict XVI on Saturday.

Henriette Delille (1812-1862) was of African descent and lived in Louisiana but she was not a slave. She founded her congregation of black sisters in 1842.

In addition to the proclamation regarding Venerable Henriette, the Pope also authorized proclamations noting the heroic virtue of two Germans, two Italians, a Paraguayan and a Slovenian. The new venerables are:

-- Maria Felicia de Jesús Sacramentado (born Maria Felicia Guggiari Echeverría), a Paraguayan professed sister of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1925-1959);

-- Maria Frances of the Cross (born Franziska Amalia Streitel), German founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows (1844-1911);

-- Maria Theresia (born Regina Christine Wilhelmine Bonzel), German founder of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration (1830-1905);

-- Ivan Franjo Gnidovec, Slovenian bishop of Skopje-Prizren (1873-1939);

-- Luigi Novarese, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Silent Workers of the Cross (1914-1984);

-- Francesco Antonio Marcucci, Italian archbishop-bishop of Montalto (1717-1798).

Martyrs and miracles

The Holy Father also approved recognition of miracles obtained through the intercession of six people. They are:

-- Blessed Bonifacia Rodríguez de Castro, Spanish founder of the Servants of St. Joseph (1837-1905);

-- Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Spanish bishop of Osma (1600-1659);

-- Maria Barbara of the Blessed Trinity (born Barbara Maix), Austrian founder of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1818-1873);

-- Anna Maria Adorni, Italian founder of the Congregation of Handmaidens of Blessed Mary Immaculate and of the Institute of the Good Shepherd of Parma (1805-1893);

-- María de la Inmaculada Concepción (born María Isabel Salvat y Romero), Spanish superior-general of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross (1926-1998);

-- Stephen Nehme (born Joseph), Lebanese professed religious of the Order of Maronites (1889-1938).

The Pontiff recognized three martyrs:

-- Szilard Bogdanffy, Romanian bishop of Oradea Mare of the Latins, died in prison in Nagyenyed, Romania (1911-1953).

-- Gerhard Hirschfelder, German diocesan priest, died in the Dachau concentration camp (1907-1942).

-- Luigi Grozde, Slovenian layman and member of Catholic Action, killed at Mirna in hatred of the faith (1923-1943).

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Chiara Badano to be Beatified on September 25, 2010

The Catholic lay Focolare movement will soon have its first beatified member. Chiara Badano, who died just 20 years ago while still a teenager, will be beatified Sept. 25.

Bishop Pier Giorgio Micchiardi of Acqui, Italy, announced Friday the beatification, which will take place in Rome. Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, will preside over the ceremony.

Young people of the Focolare movement will that evening celebrate Badano's beatification in Paul VI Hall. The next day, Sept. 26, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state, will preside over a thanksgiving Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

...


Badano became extremely active in the Focolares' Gen Movement (New Generation). She liked sports, dancing and singing. At age 16, she decided to consecrate herself to God.

Just a year later, while playing tennis, Badano experienced sharp pain. Doctors soon discovered bone cancer. As the disease progressed, Badano faced repeated hospitalizations and increasing pain. She often repeated, "For you, Jesus. If you wish it, so do I!"

Soon Badano had to endure one of her harshest trials: She lost the use of her legs. However, she confided to one of her friends: "If I had to choose between walking and going to Paradise, I'd have no doubt, I would choose Paradise. Now I'm only interested in that."

Source: Zenit

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Pope Benedict XVI to Beatify John Henry Cardinal Newman in September 2010

It's official! In an extraordinary move, Pope Benedict XVI himself will beatify John Henry Cardinal Newman this September in England.

This puts Newman one step away from sainthood!

This is immensely important for anyone who is concerned about the state of the culture and the Catholic Church in America. Cardinal Newman would be the perfect saint for our time.

He can be a powerful patron for the renewal of Catholic identity in Catholic education . . . the embrace of authentic Catholic theology . . . and the exciting reunification with Anglican Christians.

In prayer, God allows us to cooperate with His plans for the Church and the world. For this reason it is so important that you join our Prayer Campaign for Newman's Canonization!

Source: Cardinal Newman Society

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St. Joan Antidea Thouret

Joan Antidea lived from 1765 to 1828. At the age of 22, St. Joan joined the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris but during the French Revolution she was in exile in Switzerland and Germany. Returning to France in 1797, she founded a new religious congregation: Sisters of Charity supported by Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon's mother.

Pope Pius VII approved her religious congregation in 1819 and gave canonical privileges to her convents.

Below is a photo from her canonization proclaimed by Pope Pius XI in 1934.

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St. Gemma Galgani

Today is the anniversary of the death of St. Maria Gemma Umberta Pia Galgani (March 12, 1878 – April 11, 1903), an Italian mystic, commonly referred to as St. Gemma Galgani. Below is a photo from her canonization on May 2, 1940 in Saint Peter's Basilica by His Holiness Pope Pius XII.

"Saint Gemma Galgani showed an inherent love for prayer at a very young age. She displayed an innocent simplicity and deep humility throughout her entire lifetime. When studying the Passion of Christ, she wept. It was said that her entire life was one constant prayer. Her intense love of Christ (especially Christ Crucified) grew constantly and was shown through her physically and emotionally reliving the Passion of Our Lord every week. Ultimately she lived in union with Christ Crucified and was blessed with the gift of stigmata. Saint Gemma was beatified in 1933 and canonized in 1940. Her feast day is April 11" (Servants of the Holy Family)

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Beatification soon for 250 Spanish Civil War Martyrs

Valencia, Jun. 12, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The Spanish financial newspaper La Gaceta de los Negocios reports that the Vatican has given the green light to the beatification of 250 Spaniards martyred in Valencia during Spain's Civil War. The Vatican has not issued any formal announcement. 

Valencia's Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco opened the cause in 2004 for 183 priests, 10 religious, and 57 laymen, including a woman who was 9 months pregnant, who was asked her captors to let her give birth to her child so that she could baptize him but sadly her request was denied. In 2001, John Paul II beatified 226 other Valencian martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. 

 Source: Catholic World News

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Beatification of Cardinal Newman and St. Therese's Parents Nears

From Catholic News Agency:

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Cause of the Saints, has announced that the beatification of the great British convert and scholar, Cardinal John Henry Newman, is "imminent."

In an interview to be published on Wednesday in the daily Italian edition of L'Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Saraiva said that among the most important personalities to be beatified "soon" is "the case of Cardinal Newman, a relevant intellectual, and an emblematic figure of conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism."

"Personally, I wish his beatification to happen very soon because it would be very important at this moment for the path of ecumenical dialogue,” Cardinal Martins said.

Cardinal Saraiva Martins also revealed the beatification, latter this year, of the parents of St, Therese of Lisieux, Louis Martin and Azelia Guérin. The heroic virtues of the parents of St. Therese, who is now one of the most popular saints in the Catholic Church and a Doctor of the Church, were proclaimed on March 26, 1944.

Source: Catholic News Agency

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Trinitarian Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Feastday for the Newly Beatified Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War

At the Rite of Beatification held on October 28, 2007, in St. Peter’s Square, Cardinal José Savaira Martins – Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints – announced that 6 November has been established as the feastday for the Trinitarian Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) as well as for the other 488 martyrs beatified on October 28. This is the largest mass beatification in the history of the Church!

Prayer to Martyrs:

O God, Who dost gladden us by the annual feast of Thy holy Martyrs, mercifully grant that we who rejoice in their merits may be inspired by their example. Through our Lord

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Canonization Photos

Canonization of St. Joan Antida Thouret

Does anyone know of a website with photos involving the canonization and/or beatification of any of these saints? I will update this post when I find photos by linking the saint's name to my post with the photographs. Below are the canonizations from the pontificates of Pius XI, Pius XII, John XIII, and Paul VI. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Note: The date listed below is the date of the canonization

1925: Saint John Mary Vianney
1925: Saint John Eudes
1925: Saint Madeline Sophie Barat
1925: Saint Marie Madeline Postel
1925: Saint Peter Canisius
1925: Saint Therese of Lisieux
1930: Jesuit North American Martyrs
1930: Saint Catherine Tomas
1930: Saint Lucy Filippini
1930: Saint Robert Bellarmine
1930: Saint Theophilus of Corte
1931: Saint Albert the Great
1933: Saint Andrew Fournet
1933: Saint Bernadette Soubirous
1934: Saint Conrad of Parzham
1934: Saint John Bosco
1934: Saint Joan Antide Thouret
1934: Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo
1934: Saint Louise de Marillac
1934: Saint Teresa Margaret Redi
1934: Saint Mary Michaeli
1934: Saint Pompilius M. Pirotti
1935: Saint John Fisher
1935: Saint Thomas More
1938: Saint Andrew Bobola
1938: Saint John Leonardi
1938: Saint Salvatore of Horta

1940: Saint Gemma Galgani
1940: Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
1943: Saint Margaret of Hungary
1946: Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini
1947: Saint Bernard Realini
1947: Saint Catherine Labouré
1947: Saint Jeanne Elizabeth des Ages
1947: Saint John of Britto
1947: Saint Joseph Cafasso
1947: Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
1947: Saint Nicholas of Flüe
1947: Saint Michael Garicoits
1949: Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac
1949: Saint Maria Josepha Rossello
1950: Saint Anthony Mary Claret

1959: Saint Charles of Sezze
1959: Saint Joaquina de Vedruna de Mas
1960: Saint Gregory Barbarigo
1960: Saint John de Ribera
1961: Saint Bertilla Boscardin
1962: Saint Anthony Pucci
1962: Saint Francis Mary of Camporosso
1962: Saint Martin de Porres
1962: Saint Peter Julian Eymard
1963: Saint Vincent Pallotti
1950: Saint Bartolomea Capitanio
1950: Saint Emily de Rodat
1950: Saint Jane of Valois
1950: Saint Maria Goretti
1950: Saint Mariana Paredes of Jesus
1950: Saint Vincenza Gerosa
1950: Saint Vincenzo M Strambi
1951: Saint Anthony M Gianelli
1951: Saint Emilie de Vialar
1951: Saint Francis Xavier Bianchi
1951: Saint Ignatius of Laconi
1951: Saint Maria Domenica Mazzarello
1954: Saint Dominic Savio
1954: Saint Gaspar del Bufalo
1954: Saint Joseph M. Pignatelli
1954: Saint Maria Crocifissa di Rosa
1954: Saint Pius X
1954: Saint Peter Chanel
1958: Saint Herman Joseph

1964: Martyrs of Uganda
1964: Saint Achileo Kiwanuka
1964: Saint Adolofu Mukasa Ludigo
1964: Saint Ambrosio Kibuuka
1964: Saint Anatoli Kiriggwajjo
1964: Saint Anderea Kaggwa
1964: Saint Antanansio Bazzekuketta
1964: Saint Bruno Sserunkuuma
1964: Saint Charles Lwanga
1964: Saint Denis Ssebuggwawo
1964: Saint Gonzaga Gonza
1964: Saint Gyavire
1964: Saint James Buzabaliao
1964: Saint John Maria Muzeyi
1964: Saint Joseph Mukasa
1964: Saint Kizito
1964: Saint Lukka Baanabakintu
1964: Saint Matiya Mulumba
1964: Saint Mbaga Tuzinde
1964: Saint Mugagga
1964: Saint Mukasa Kiriwawanvu
1964: Saint Nowa Mawaggali
1964: Saint Ponsiano Ngondwe
1967: Saint Benilde Romacon
1969: Saint Julia Billiart
1970: Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
1970: Saint Anne Line
1970: Saint Augustine Webster
1970: Saint Edmund Arrowsmith
1970: Saint Edmund Campion
1970: Saint John of Avila
1970: Saint John Payne
1970: Saint John Rigby
1970: Saint John Southworth
1970: Saint John Lloyd
1970: Saint John Boste
1970: Saint John Kemble
1970: Saint John Wall
1970: Saint John Almond
1970: Saint John Roberts
1970: Saint Leonard Murialdo
1970: Saint Maria Soledad Torres Acosta
1970: Saint Margaret Clitherow
1970: Saint Therese Couderc
1970: Saint Richard Reynolds
1970: Saint Thomas Garnet
1970: Saint Deodatus of Aquitaine
1970: Saint Nicholas Tavelic
1970: Saint Peter of Narbonne
1970: Saint Stephen of Cuneo
1974: Saint Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars
1975: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton,
1975: Saint Justin de Jacobis,
1975: Saint John de Massias
1975: Saint Oliver Plunket
1975: Saint Vicenta Maria Lopez y Vicuna
1975: Saint John Baptist of the Conception
1976: Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses
1976: Saint John Ogilvie
1977: Saint Charbel Makhlouf
1977: Saint John Neumann
1977: Saint Rafaela Maria Porras y Ayllon

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