He may soon be called "venerable".

Twenty-three years after his death, Câmara is one of the emblematic figures in defence of the homeless, the jobless and the landless.

This wasn't always the case though.

The Archbishop was one of the Brazilian bishops' conference founders. He was named to Olinda and Recife in 1964, three weeks before the military coup that started the 20-year dictatorship in Brazil began.

Days after the coup, he released a manifesto supporting the Catholic workers' action in Recife.

The new military government accused him of being a demagogue and a communist. He was forbidden to speak publicly.

He did anyway - and exposed the regime for what it was.

"If I give bread to the poor, everyone calls me a saint. If I show why the poor have no bread, they call me a communist and a subversive," Câmara is quoted as saying during that time.

There were two main lines of work in the social and political spheres.

One was the defence of social justice in the most unequal continent in the world.

The other was the confrontation with the dictatorships both in his country and in other countries around Brazil.

He remained a strong critic of the regime, denouncing human rights violations committed by police authorities. He wrote several books on the topic.

In 1972, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. By 1985, when he retired, he was credited with having organised more than 500 base ecclesial communities, which use Bible study and prayer to address social and economic problems.

The "favelas" in his heart

After transferring to Rio de Janeiro in 1936 until his death, Câmara's concern for the lives of those who inhabit the misery belts in Brazil (the "favelas"), was the hallmark of his pastoral action.

In his capacity as auxiliary bishop of Rio de Janeiro (1952) and later, as archbishop of Olinda and Recife (1964-1985), he had enormous media repercussions. There were several occasions when the military regime wanted to end his life.

In 2015, 16 years after his death, the process of his canonisation was opened. Later, with the Holy See's authorisation, he received the title of Servant of God.

In December 26, 2017 he was declared a "Brazilian Patron of Human Rights" by a federal law.

This was ratified by the State of Pernambuco where it led to carry out most of his ministry.

Asked why he had to renounce the apostolic palaces and go to live in the neighbourhoods of the poor, Dom Hélder (as Câmara was commonly known) replied: "There are miseries that cry out, before which we have no right to remain indifferent".

The diocesan beatification process for Câmara began in 2014. In 2015 he received the title of "Servant of God".

For many Brazilians, the persecuted and now the vindicated Câmara's championship of human rights means he can also be the champion of a poor Church and for the poor.

Source

• Aleteia
• NCR

Drs John and Evelyn Billings are perhaps best known overseas for their work in pioneering the Billings Ovulation Method, which has helped countless women around the world determine the most fertile and infertile periods of their menstrual cycle by using mucus patterns from the cervix as the most reliable indicator of fertility.

While John Billings died in 2007 and Evelyn Billings died in 2013, interest in their personal story is growing, with a dedicated website to promote their sainthood cause, based on their inspirational personal attributes and deep Catholic faith.

Read More

The push for sainthood began around the first anniversary of Young's death at age 90 on December 9, 2020, after a long fight with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer.

Joe Condon, public affairs director of Albany Broadcasting, began the campaign during his programmes on B95.5 FM and in Facebook posts.

"We got a lot of support. Many people had wonderful things to say about Father Young and all the good work he did," said Condon.

Read More

Mychal Judge was a gay man who devoted himself to ministering to vulnerable populations such as the homeless or people with HIV/AIDS. Some of his many admirers point to him as a reason for the US Catholic Church to be more welcoming to LGBTQ people.

Some argue passionately that Judge should be considered for sainthood. A new initiative is to be launched in the coming days.

Though Judge's religious order has not embraced that cause, a Rome-based priest who helps the Vatican investigate possible candidates for canonization is urging Judge's supporters not to give up the effort.

Judge died in the line of duty two decades ago after hurrying with firefighter colleagues to the burning World Trade Center. As he prayed in the north tower's lobby for the rescuers and victims, the 68-year-old priest was crushed by debris from the falling south tower.

"Mychal Judge shows us that you can be gay and holy," said the Rev James Martin, a Jesuit priest who advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the church.

"Father Judge's selflessness is a reminder of the sanctity that the church often overlooks in LGBTQ people," Martin said via email. "Heaven is filled with LGBTQ people. All the church has to do is start to recognize this."

Many of Judge's admirers took heart in 2017 when Pope Francis proclaimed a new pathway to sainthood, recognizing those who sacrifice their lives for others.

After that announcement, the Rev Luis Escalante, who has investigated possible sainthood cases for the Vatican's Congregation for Causes of Saints, began receiving testimonies supporting Judge's canonization.

Those accounts depicted Judge as "the best icon" of humanity, Escalante told The Associated Press via email this week.

But there was a hitch: The Franciscans — who normally would be expected to lead a sainthood campaign on behalf of someone from the order — declined to do so for Judge.

"We are very proud of our brother's legacy. We have shared his story with many people," Rev Kevin Mullen, leader of the Franciscans' New York-based Holy Name Province, told the AP. "We leave it to our brothers in the generations to come to inquire about sainthood."

Escalante hopes supporters don't give up and instead form a viable organization that could pursue sainthood in the coming years. Among the tasks: building a case that a miracle occurred through a prayer to Judge.

"The negative decision of the Friars cannot be seen as a preclusion to going ahead with Fr. Judge's cause," Escalante wrote. "It's just a challenge to American people."

Sources

AP News

National Catholic Reporter

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

Some would argue he is an Aotearoa saint waiting to be recognised.

Every year people from the Hamilton Diocese and beyond gather at his birthplace Okahukura, north of Taumarunui to celebrate his life.

His family have a marae there dedicated to Mary. It is called Whanau Maria.

Currently, they are rebuilding it to make it more suitable to welcome visitors.

A welcome powhiri at ten was followed by a visit to the urupa where the rosary was recited.

Then people returned to the marae where the Eucharist was celebrated by the bishop of Hamilton Steve Lowe.

The parish priest, Fr Lawrie Bishop and Fr David Gledhill concelebrated.

The local parish fully supports the occasion. They sang the parts of the Mass with a chant composed by Richard Puanaki of Wairoa.

Richard's faith is the direct result of Pa Wiremu's early ministry in Wairoa.

Lowe speaks of the legacy of "our own Pa Wiremu Te Awhitu... courageous priest and man of faith... a legacy deeply rooted in the soil of generations past, present and most surely to live on in generations to come."

Pa Wiremu grew up in Okahukura the third of 10 children. He lived till he was 80 (1914-1994).

He was a true son of the King Country and was an accomplished footballer and athlete who practised Maori crafts and was a skilled carver.

He was formed by the Mill Hill Fathers and attended Hato Petera and St Patrick's College Silverstream.

He was ordained in 1944.

His priestly ministry was brought to an abrupt stop by a severe stroke in 1958, while he was serving in Wairoa.

He moved to Hato Paora College, Feilding. There he slowly re-learned enough speech to celebrate the Eucharist again.

Pa Wiremu spent the last 36 years of life struggling to speak and minister.

Much of that time was spent at Jerusalem on the Whanganui River.

He is possibly a candidate for sainthood not only as he was the first Maori priest, but because of his down to earth holiness.

And he could be hailed as the intercessor for those who suffer a disability.

The late Bishop Mariu SM describes Pa Wiremu as a "prayerful, hard-working person, devoted to Mary, committed to his people, gentle, big-hearted and welcoming with a spirituality springing from someone at peace with God and the world."

Poet James K Baxter used to attend his Eucharist and said of his reflections "Te Atua sends me a good instructor in Father Te Awhitu. His few words have the weight of wedges splitting timber. His soul speaks of God because it is at rest in God."

Gledhill was Fr Te Awhitu's Superior at Whanganui. He notes: "When I attended Eucharist with Pa, Pa showed an awareness of the very special presence in the Eucharist. Fr Te Awhitu had an extraordinary insight into the Eucharist."

Click here to read the biography of Pa Wiremu Hakopa Toa Te Awhitu in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

Source

Supplied: Pa Piripi Cody

An investigation into the cause for Chesterton, conducted by Canon John Udris, is expected to be completed this year.

"Chesterton stands up as that saint who contradicts the world in terms of speaking out against a bad philosophy and bad thinking," said Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society. Read more