On Saturday, the Vatican said Pope Francis had approved a decree recognising the "heroic virtues" of George Spencer. Fr. Spencer was a priest of the Passionist religious order who lived from 1799 to 1864.

Prince William and his brother Prince Harry are related to Spencer through their mother, Diana Spencer, the late Princess of Wales, who died in 1997.

Spencer was Diana's great-great-great-uncle, and also a great-uncle of Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill, according to the website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury.

He grew up on the Spencer ancestral estate in Althorp, where Diana is buried.

Spencer left the Anglican Church and took the name "Ignatius of St Paul" after becoming a Catholic priest.

After his ordination in Rome, he returned to England and ministered to poor Irish migrants in the West Midlands.

In Britain, the Passionist religious order has been working on his sainthood cause for decades, investigating his life and writings.

The Pope's approval of the decree means Spencer now has the title "venerable".

The "four steps of the path to canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church", are in the following sequence: Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed and Saint.

The first step is based on the competence and judgment of the local diocese. The next three steps require formal recognition by Vatican authorities (i.e., the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the pope).

Spencer's sainthood cause is still in the early stages. One miracle would have to be attributed to Spencer for him to be beatified. Then another for him to be made a saint.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that only God performs miracles but that saints who are believed to be with God in heaven intercede on behalf of people who pray to them. A miracle is usually the medically inexplicable healing of a person.

Sources

Sydney Morning Herald

Royal Central

The Duke of Cambridge was in the Mediterranean nation representing Queen Elizabeth II at the 50th anniversary of Malta's independence.

He went to a Thanksgiving Mass at St John's Cathedral in Valetta, Malta's capital on September 21.

The Prince sat next to the British High Commissioner and a few seats from Malta's president Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.

Principal celebrant at the Mass was Archbishop Paul Cremona of Malta.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said this was the first "public" Mass the Prince has attended.

Aides told media that Prince William might have attended Masses privately in the past.

In a private capacity, Prince William might have attended the Requiem Mass for Frances Kydd, his Catholic maternal grandmother, at the Catholic Cathedral in Oban on June, 2004.

In Malta, Prince William was travelling alone, without his wife, Catherine, and 14-month-old son George.

Catherine, who is pregnant, was supposed to go to Malta on what would have been her first solo official visit.

But she withdrew because of ongoing morning sickness.

At a function with the Maltese president, Prince William apologising to waiting crowds that he was standing in for his wife, but joked that Malta "might not survive baby George".

"There's too many precious things around here," he joked with the president.

Bishop Charles Scicluna, auxiliary bishop of Malta, said: "I told the Duke that the Duchess was very much in our prayers and she has the prayers of the Maltese people."

"It is wonderful time extending one's family. [The Prince] said 'Fingers crossed, she'll be better soon'."

When Prince William ascends the British throne he will inherit the title of supreme governor of the Church of England.

He also has strong Catholic links because he is distantly related to Fr Ignatius (George) Spencer, whose cause for sainthood is presently being considered by the Vatican.

A great-great-great uncle of the Prince's mother, Diana, Fr Spencer was an Anglican vicar before he became a Catholic at the age of 31, then a priest and ultimately a Passionist.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Daily Mail
• Times of Malta
• Image: Royalista