Latest news with #SalvatoreCordileone
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
First US center to train Catholics on canonization process to open in 2026
(RNS) — The first formation center for canonization in the United States is scheduled to open at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, in early 2026. The Center for Sainthood, commissioned by San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in an April 14 decree, aims to train sainthood enthusiasts on the inner workings of canonization. Announced earlier this month, the seminary's six-day, in-person certification course promises to teach 'how to honor deserving candidates and expedite their path to sainthood in the Vatican,' according to the center's website. Fifty years after the canonization of the first U.S.-born saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founders of the center said they hope to ignite a stronger saintly American culture. As causes to canonize laypeople and Black American saints have sparked interest among Catholics, what's been missing is a better understanding of the yearslong process, the center's founders said. Michael McDevitt, a spokesperson for the new center who has worked on the cause of Servant of God Cora Evans since 2012, said fellow volunteers could have used training when they started her candidacy. The cause for the Utah-born Catholic convert, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under review at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 'It seems complex in one sense because there's these many different steps, but once you learn how to move forward … it's not that it's difficult, it's just that it's unknown,' McDevitt told Religion News Service. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Despite being eager to start causes, many volunteers are deterred by the process seeming out of reach, he said. For this reason, the center's course will focus on the work required at a diocesan level, before petitions are sent to Rome. It includes interviewing historians and theologians, as well as compiling proofs of miracles. McDevitt said he thinks the initiative could appease divisions among American Catholics. 'It'll help encourage people to come back who have drifted away,' he said. 'These are beautiful stories. These are wonderful people that are also ordinary.' Outside of Rome, where the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints offers a one-semester course on the topic in Italian, canonization remains obscure for most Catholics, explained Emanuele Spedicato, an associate professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. In February, Spedicato, the canon lawyer assigned to Evans' cause, will fly to California to teach the center's first cohort of 50 students. 'Outside of Rome and of Italy, where there is a stronger formation from the Vatican, the biggest challenge is really the formation of the people involved in a cause of canonization,' he said. The first part of the course will introduce participants to the Catholic Church's sainthood culture, highlighting how the canonization process has evolved from the ages of martyrs to present day. The training will also include the theological aspect of canonization and will detail the three reasons for which a cause can be started: a person dying in martyrdom, one exercising heroic virtues or one offering their lives in the exercise of their ministry. An entire day will be dedicated to miracles — 'a (key) element in a process of canonization' — Spedicato said. Miracles refer to events that occurred 'by the Grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed, which is scientifically inexplicable,' according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website. For Kathleen Sprows Cummings, an American studies and history professor at University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the author of 'A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American' (2019), the St. Patrick's Seminary initiative signals an interesting shift in the American Catholic Church's approach to sainthood. After despairing about not seeing more American-born saint candidates and decades of volunteers vying for more attention to their causes, Sprows Cummings said faithfuls creating networks and working side by side is a new strategy. 'This is a sign that those days are over — that there's actually many candidates from the United States who are being considered, and that it's in their interest to cooperate rather than compete,' she said. 'It's not a zero-sum game. The popularity of some saints spills over into making others more popular.' The way American Catholics work on causes has also evolved, she noted. Instead of religious order members working full time on causes, now many involve part-time volunteers for whom training can be invaluable. And in recent years, a number of causes for lay Catholics have gained traction among Americans, she said, including those of 6 Black candidates. After George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, interest in the causes of Black candidates increased. 'In a time when the United States is trying to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and the Catholic Church is asking what its part was in that, these stories have a lot of appeal,' Sprows Cummings said. Waldery Hilgeman, the postulator, or person guiding the causes, for three Black saint candidates – Servant of God Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Venerable Henriette DeLille – will teach classes at the center alongside Spedicato. As Catholics, in America and across the world, await signs of what Pope Leo XIV's approach to saint-making will be, Sprows Cummings said she believes the pope will be compelled to walk in the steps of his predecessors, two 'energetic saint-makers,' as a number of causes are already underway at the dicastery. The new pope, she said, could potentially 'be very interested in … a broader representation of a diversity of the world's Catholics represented as saints.'
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
First US center to train Catholics on canonization process to open in 2026
(RNS) — The first formation center for canonization in the United States is scheduled to open at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, in early 2026. The Center for Sainthood, commissioned by San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in an April 14 decree, aims to train sainthood enthusiasts on the inner workings of canonization. Announced earlier this month, the seminary's six-day, in-person certification course promises to teach 'how to honor deserving candidates and expedite their path to sainthood in the Vatican,' according to the center's website. Fifty years after the canonization of the first U.S.-born saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founders of the center said they hope to ignite a stronger saintly American culture. As causes to canonize laypeople and Black American saints have sparked interest among Catholics, what's been missing is a better understanding of the yearslong process, the center's founders said. Michael McDevitt, a spokesperson for the new center who has worked on the cause of Servant of God Cora Evans since 2012, said fellow volunteers could have used training when they started her candidacy. The cause for the Utah-born Catholic convert, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under review at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 'It seems complex in one sense because there's these many different steps, but once you learn how to move forward … it's not that it's difficult, it's just that it's unknown,' McDevitt told Religion News Service. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Despite being eager to start causes, many volunteers are deterred by the process seeming out of reach, he said. For this reason, the center's course will focus on the work required at a diocesan level, before petitions are sent to Rome. It includes interviewing historians and theologians, as well as compiling proofs of miracles. McDevitt said he thinks the initiative could appease divisions among American Catholics. 'It'll help encourage people to come back who have drifted away,' he said. 'These are beautiful stories. These are wonderful people that are also ordinary.' Outside of Rome, where the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints offers a one-semester course on the topic in Italian, canonization remains obscure for most Catholics, explained Emanuele Spedicato, an associate professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. In February, Spedicato, the canon lawyer assigned to Evans' cause, will fly to California to teach the center's first cohort of 50 students. 'Outside of Rome and of Italy, where there is a stronger formation from the Vatican, the biggest challenge is really the formation of the people involved in a cause of canonization,' he said. The first part of the course will introduce participants to the Catholic Church's sainthood culture, highlighting how the canonization process has evolved from the ages of martyrs to present day. The training will also include the theological aspect of canonization and will detail the three reasons for which a cause can be started: a person dying in martyrdom, one exercising heroic virtues or one offering their lives in the exercise of their ministry. An entire day will be dedicated to miracles — 'a (key) element in a process of canonization' — Spedicato said. Miracles refer to events that occurred 'by the Grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed, which is scientifically inexplicable,' according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website. For Kathleen Sprows Cummings, an American studies and history professor at University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the author of 'A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American' (2019), the St. Patrick's Seminary initiative signals an interesting shift in the American Catholic Church's approach to sainthood. After despairing about not seeing more American-born saint candidates and decades of volunteers vying for more attention to their causes, Sprows Cummings said faithfuls creating networks and working side by side is a new strategy. 'This is a sign that those days are over — that there's actually many candidates from the United States who are being considered, and that it's in their interest to cooperate rather than compete,' she said. 'It's not a zero-sum game. The popularity of some saints spills over into making others more popular.' The way American Catholics work on causes has also evolved, she noted. Instead of religious order members working full time on causes, now many involve part-time volunteers for whom training can be invaluable. And in recent years, a number of causes for lay Catholics have gained traction among Americans, she said, including those of 6 Black candidates. After George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, interest in the causes of Black candidates increased. 'In a time when the United States is trying to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and the Catholic Church is asking what its part was in that, these stories have a lot of appeal,' Sprows Cummings said. Waldery Hilgeman, the postulator, or person guiding the causes, for three Black saint candidates – Servant of God Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Venerable Henriette DeLille – will teach classes at the center alongside Spedicato. As Catholics, in America and across the world, await signs of what Pope Leo XIV's approach to saint-making will be, Sprows Cummings said she believes the pope will be compelled to walk in the steps of his predecessors, two 'energetic saint-makers,' as a number of causes are already underway at the dicastery. The new pope, she said, could potentially 'be very interested in … a broader representation of a diversity of the world's Catholics represented as saints.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
First US center to train Catholics on canonization process to open in 2026
(RNS) — The first formation center for canonization in the United States is scheduled to open at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, in early 2026. The Center for Sainthood, commissioned by San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in an April 14 decree, aims to train sainthood enthusiasts on the inner workings of canonization. Announced earlier this month, the seminary's six-day, in-person certification course promises to teach 'how to honor deserving candidates and expedite their path to sainthood in the Vatican,' according to the center's website. Fifty years after the canonization of the first U.S.-born saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founders of the center said they hope to ignite a stronger saintly American culture. As causes to canonize laypeople and Black American saints have sparked interest among Catholics, what's been missing is a better understanding of the yearslong process, the center's founders said. Michael McDevitt, a spokesperson for the new center who has worked on the cause of Servant of God Cora Evans since 2012, said fellow volunteers could have used training when they started her candidacy. The cause for the Utah-born Catholic convert, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under review at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 'It seems complex in one sense because there's these many different steps, but once you learn how to move forward … it's not that it's difficult, it's just that it's unknown,' McDevitt told Religion News Service. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Despite being eager to start causes, many volunteers are deterred by the process seeming out of reach, he said. For this reason, the center's course will focus on the work required at a diocesan level, before petitions are sent to Rome. It includes interviewing historians and theologians, as well as compiling proofs of miracles. McDevitt said he thinks the initiative could appease divisions among American Catholics. 'It'll help encourage people to come back who have drifted away,' he said. 'These are beautiful stories. These are wonderful people that are also ordinary.' Outside of Rome, where the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints offers a one-semester course on the topic in Italian, canonization remains obscure for most Catholics, explained Emanuele Spedicato, an associate professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. In February, Spedicato, the canon lawyer assigned to Evans' cause, will fly to California to teach the center's first cohort of 50 students. 'Outside of Rome and of Italy, where there is a stronger formation from the Vatican, the biggest challenge is really the formation of the people involved in a cause of canonization,' he said. The first part of the course will introduce participants to the Catholic Church's sainthood culture, highlighting how the canonization process has evolved from the ages of martyrs to present day. The training will also include the theological aspect of canonization and will detail the three reasons for which a cause can be started: a person dying in martyrdom, one exercising heroic virtues or one offering their lives in the exercise of their ministry. An entire day will be dedicated to miracles — 'a (key) element in a process of canonization' — Spedicato said. Miracles refer to events that occurred 'by the Grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed, which is scientifically inexplicable,' according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website. For Kathleen Sprows Cummings, an American studies and history professor at University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the author of 'A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American' (2019), the St. Patrick's Seminary initiative signals an interesting shift in the American Catholic Church's approach to sainthood. After despairing about not seeing more American-born saint candidates and decades of volunteers vying for more attention to their causes, Sprows Cummings said faithfuls creating networks and working side by side is a new strategy. 'This is a sign that those days are over — that there's actually many candidates from the United States who are being considered, and that it's in their interest to cooperate rather than compete,' she said. 'It's not a zero-sum game. The popularity of some saints spills over into making others more popular.' The way American Catholics work on causes has also evolved, she noted. Instead of religious order members working full time on causes, now many involve part-time volunteers for whom training can be invaluable. And in recent years, a number of causes for lay Catholics have gained traction among Americans, she said, including those of 6 Black candidates. After George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, interest in the causes of Black candidates increased. 'In a time when the United States is trying to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and the Catholic Church is asking what its part was in that, these stories have a lot of appeal,' Sprows Cummings said. Waldery Hilgeman, the postulator, or person guiding the causes, for three Black saint candidates – Servant of God Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Venerable Henriette DeLille – will teach classes at the center alongside Spedicato. As Catholics, in America and across the world, await signs of what Pope Leo XIV's approach to saint-making will be, Sprows Cummings said she believes the pope will be compelled to walk in the steps of his predecessors, two 'energetic saint-makers,' as a number of causes are already underway at the dicastery. The new pope, she said, could potentially 'be very interested in … a broader representation of a diversity of the world's Catholics represented as saints.'
Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
First US center to train Catholics on canonization process to open in 2026
(RNS) — The first formation center for canonization in the United States is scheduled to open at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, in early 2026. The Center for Sainthood, commissioned by San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in an April 14 decree, aims to train sainthood enthusiasts on the inner workings of canonization. Announced earlier this month, the seminary's six-day, in-person certification course promises to teach 'how to honor deserving candidates and expedite their path to sainthood in the Vatican,' according to the center's website. Fifty years after the canonization of the first U.S.-born saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founders of the center said they hope to ignite a stronger saintly American culture. As causes to canonize laypeople and Black American saints have sparked interest among Catholics, what's been missing is a better understanding of the yearslong process, the center's founders said. Michael McDevitt, a spokesperson for the new center who has worked on the cause of Servant of God Cora Evans since 2012, said fellow volunteers could have used training when they started her candidacy. The cause for the Utah-born Catholic convert, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under review at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 'It seems complex in one sense because there's these many different steps, but once you learn how to move forward … it's not that it's difficult, it's just that it's unknown,' McDevitt told Religion News Service. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Despite being eager to start causes, many volunteers are deterred by the process seeming out of reach, he said. For this reason, the center's course will focus on the work required at a diocesan level, before petitions are sent to Rome. It includes interviewing historians and theologians, as well as compiling proofs of miracles. McDevitt said he thinks the initiative could appease divisions among American Catholics. 'It'll help encourage people to come back who have drifted away,' he said. 'These are beautiful stories. These are wonderful people that are also ordinary.' Outside of Rome, where the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints offers a one-semester course on the topic in Italian, canonization remains obscure for most Catholics, explained Emanuele Spedicato, an associate professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. In February, Spedicato, the canon lawyer assigned to Evans' cause, will fly to California to teach the center's first cohort of 50 students. 'Outside of Rome and of Italy, where there is a stronger formation from the Vatican, the biggest challenge is really the formation of the people involved in a cause of canonization,' he said. The first part of the course will introduce participants to the Catholic Church's sainthood culture, highlighting how the canonization process has evolved from the ages of martyrs to present day. The training will also include the theological aspect of canonization and will detail the three reasons for which a cause can be started: a person dying in martyrdom, one exercising heroic virtues or one offering their lives in the exercise of their ministry. An entire day will be dedicated to miracles — 'a (key) element in a process of canonization' — Spedicato said. Miracles refer to events that occurred 'by the Grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed, which is scientifically inexplicable,' according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website. For Kathleen Sprows Cummings, an American studies and history professor at University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the author of 'A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American' (2019), the St. Patrick's Seminary initiative signals an interesting shift in the American Catholic Church's approach to sainthood. After despairing about not seeing more American-born saint candidates and decades of volunteers vying for more attention to their causes, Sprows Cummings said faithfuls creating networks and working side by side is a new strategy. 'This is a sign that those days are over — that there's actually many candidates from the United States who are being considered, and that it's in their interest to cooperate rather than compete,' she said. 'It's not a zero-sum game. The popularity of some saints spills over into making others more popular.' The way American Catholics work on causes has also evolved, she noted. Instead of religious order members working full time on causes, now many involve part-time volunteers for whom training can be invaluable. And in recent years, a number of causes for lay Catholics have gained traction among Americans, she said, including those of 6 Black candidates. After George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, interest in the causes of Black candidates increased. 'In a time when the United States is trying to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and the Catholic Church is asking what its part was in that, these stories have a lot of appeal,' Sprows Cummings said. Waldery Hilgeman, the postulator, or person guiding the causes, for three Black saint candidates – Servant of God Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Venerable Henriette DeLille – will teach classes at the center alongside Spedicato. As Catholics, in America and across the world, await signs of what Pope Leo XIV's approach to saint-making will be, Sprows Cummings said she believes the pope will be compelled to walk in the steps of his predecessors, two 'energetic saint-makers,' as a number of causes are already underway at the dicastery. The new pope, she said, could potentially 'be very interested in … a broader representation of a diversity of the world's Catholics represented as saints.'
CBS News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Bay Area leaders remember Pope Francis as "one of a kind" pontiff who cared for vulnerable
Bay Area leaders joined Catholics around world in mourning the death of Pope Francis, who is being remembered for his groundbreaking papacy . Pope Francis died Monday at his Vatican City residence , just hours after making a surprise appearance at St. Peter's Square to bless well-wishers on Easter Sunday. The pontiff had been recovering from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia that kept him hospitalized for over a month. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco said in a statement Monday , "The outpouring of prayers, good will and love for our Holy Father not only from Catholics but from people of different faiths all over the world is edifying and personally fills me with gratitude." "Pope Francis called on us all to give more, sacrifice more, and care more about the poorest and most vulnerable, from the tiny infant in the womb, to the elderly and infirm, to the migrant and the refugee. Let us take inspiration from his words and example and put that inspiration into action," Cordileone went on to say. Bishop Michael Barber of the Diocese of Oakland described Francis as "One of a kind". "He will be forever known as 'The Pope of Mercy.' He called for a 'Holy Year of Mercy' in 2016 which inspired an outpouring of charitable works and led to the reconciliation of thousands of Catholics with the Lord," he said. Bishop Oscar Cantu of the Diocese of San Jose said, "He referred to the Church as a field hospital , reaching out to the peripheries, and encouraged us all to encounter each other, especially the poor. His emphasis on mercy, care for creation, and solidarity with the poor has left an indelible mark on the Church and the world." "Let us honor the legacy of Pope Francis by continuing to build a Church that is welcoming, inclusive, and dedicated to serving those in need," he went on to say. Cantu said a memorial Mass for Pope Francis would take place in the coming days. Along with local Catholic Church leaders, political leaders offered their condolences. "Personally, the loss of Pope Francis is devastating," said Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was among the U.S. delegation who attended his installation in 2013 and was House minority leader when he spoke to Congress two years later. "He reminded us of our inescapable duty to those struggling to escape poverty and persecution in our communities and around the world. Perhaps his most distinctive leadership will be his historic commitment to addressing the climate crisis," Pelosi said. "In San Francisco, we take special pride in Pope Francis, as he shares the namesake of our City and honors the call of our anthem, the Song of Saint Francis, to be an 'instrument of peace'." Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement, which read in part , "His papacy was characterized by moral courage, a profound respect for all creation, and a deep conviction in the transformative power of love to heal and unite."
