One of the distinguishing features of the papacy since Vatican II has been an enthusiasm for proclaiming saints. Sandro Magister at his blog Chiesa explains how Pope Francis has been exercising this power:
He explained, in fact, that Anchieta will be inscribed in the list of saints together with two blesseds born in France who played a leading role in the evangelization of Canada: the missionary mystic Marie of the Incarnation (née Marie Guyart, 1599-1672), and Bishop François de Montmorency-Laval (1623-1708).
Go here to read the rest. When it comes to proclaiming new saints, PopeWatch would prefer a more sedate approach. Saints have always had a special role in the life of the Catholic Church. Sometimes events require that a Saint be “fast-tracked”. The canonizations of Saint Thomas Becket and Saint Francis of Assisi come to mind. Saints of course are experiencing the Beatific Vision and earthly acclaim, presumably, is of no consequence to them. Recognizing someone as a saint is not a reward, but rather a saint is acclaimed because of a need perceived by the Church that will be met by a particular canonization. What particular need justifies the avalanche of new saints over the past 40 years, PopeWatch will leave to sharper intellects to puzzle out.
In this age of despair, saints bring forth hope for heaven.
… the young Native American virgin Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1980)… That’s pretty old! 😀
Personally, I am all for declaring more saints because it means there are more intercessors for us to call upon.
They are there in Heaven whether they are proclaimed on Earth or not Kyle, and I am sure they are interceding for us in any case. The change in the past century in regard to canonizations is striking. Pio Nono during his 31 year reign canonized 52 saints. During his 26 year reign Pope John Paul II canonized 483.
As a history buff, I treasure the saints as reminders of what the Church is throughout history. So I don’t like rushed canonizations. It focuses us too much, I think, on the now or the recent past. I also think that John Paul disturbed the sense of continuity by canonizing so many. I have no problem with this alternative method of canonization, though. And if I’ve heard the story correctly, Benedict wanted to declare Hildegard a Doctor of the Church, but she wasn’t a saint yet, so he took a short cut.
A long side story:
I remember when John Paul added the new mysteries of the Rosary, and when he changed the traditional seven pilgrimage churches of Rome, I felt like he shouldn’t be doing those things. I love the continuity of the Faith. Fast forward to a few months ago, when I’m visiting Rome for the first time. I got lost in a pretty bad part of town. I ran across a beautiful old church next to a large cemetery, and I remember thinking, “you know, I can understand sometimes tearing churches down”. I usually bristle at that kind of thing, as I had when I was reading about different sites I was going to visit which had been rebuilt repeatedly over the centuries. But I saw this church, and the group of young people out front distributing some kind of white powder amongst themselves, and the general decay of the cemetery, and I could sympathize with the idea that not every church grounds can be maintained for centuries.
I later used Google Maps to try to retrace my steps from when I got lost, and I found out that church was the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, the pilgrimage site that John Paul had dropped from the old list. So maybe my attachments are ungrounded sometimes.
Pinky: “I later used Google Maps to try to retrace my steps from when I got lost, and I found out that church was the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, the pilgrimage site that John Paul had dropped from the old list. So maybe my attachments are ungrounded sometimes.”
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Perhaps if Pope John Paul II had not dropped the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, it would not have fallen into disrepair and become a hang out. Cemeteries are to show their antiquity.
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The 483 canonizations by John Paul 2, what was it all for?
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And now John Paul 2 is benefiting from the liberalization of the canonization procedures which he engineered himself. What is this?
Post-humous sycophancy and pandering?
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How and when did the RCC lose its spiritual sobriety and discipline?