beatification

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In a First, Vatican Beatifies an Entire Family

Polish parents, children were killed by Nazi troops along with the Jews they were sheltering

(Newser) - In an unprecedented move, the Vatican on Sunday beatified a Polish family of nine—a married couple and their small children—who were executed by the Nazis during World War II for sheltering Jews. During a ceremonious Mass in the village of Markowa, in southeastern Poland, papal envoy Cardinal Marcello...

Pope Francis Beatifies One of His Predecessors

John Paul I died abruptly in his bedroom in 1978

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Sunday beatified one of his predecessors, John Paul I, a briefly serving pontiff who distinguished himself with his humility and cheerfulness, and whose abrupt death in his bedroom in 1978 shocked the world and fueled suspicions for years about his demise. The ceremony in St. Peter's...

Miracle Attributed to Man Who Was Pope for Just 33 Days

John Paul I is a step closer to sainthood

(Newser) - John Paul I, the shortest-reigning pope in almost 400 years, has taken a big step down the road to sainthood. The Vatican says Pope Francis has approved a decree attributing a miracle to his predecessor, who was found dead in his bed from an apparent heart attack just 33 days...

Church Beatifies Polish Nun, Cardinal

Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski fought communism, Mother Elzbieta Roza Czacka helped the blind

(Newser) - Poland's top political leaders on Sunday attended the beatification of two revered figures of the Catholic Church—a cardinal who led resistance to communism and a blind nun who devoted her life to helping others who couldn't see. The celebration of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and Mother Elzbieta Roza...

Church Moves Teenager a Step From Sainthood

Cardinal says Carlo Acutis 'used the internet in service of the Gospel'

(Newser) - Carlo Acutis, who taught himself to code from a college textbook while in grade school, was precocious not just when it came to computers, but in matters of faith. "Carlo used the internet in service of the Gospel, to reach as many people as possible," Cardinal Agostino Vallini...

She Said She Saw Mary in 1917. Now, a Push for Beatification

Portugal presents evidence for Fatima nun's beatification

(Newser) - Catholic Church officials in Portugal said Monday they have assembled more than 15,000 pages of testimony and documentation to support the proposed beatification of Sister Lucia, one of three shepherd children who said the Virgin Mary appeared to them in the town of Fatima in 1917. The officials said...

Pope Francis Beatifies Paul VI

Says 'God is not afraid of new things'

(Newser) - Pope Francis today beatified Pope Paul VI, concluding the remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues that drew parallels to the tumultuous reforms of the Second Vatican Council which Paul oversaw and implemented. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI was on hand for the Mass. The bishops failed to reach consensus on...

New Jersey Nun Closer to Sainthood

Miriam Teresa Demjanovich being beatified, is credited with curing boy

(Newser) - A New Jersey nun credited with curing a boy's eye disease is moving a step closer to sainthood with her beatification. A beatification Mass for Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, who died in 1927 at age 26, was being led today by Cardinal Angelo Amato at the Cathedral Basilica of...

Miracle Credited to Pope Paul VI

He's set for beatification in October

(Newser) - No Pope Left Behind? Francis is rapidly shuffling his predecessors toward sainthood, yesterday attributing a miracle to Pope Paul VI in a move that puts him on the path to canonization—just after last month's canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII . Paul, who was elected in 1963...

Popes' Canonization Will Be Francis' Style: Low-Key

Newly no-frills Vatican plans subdued saint-making ceremony

(Newser) - When in Rome, apparently do as the current pontiff does: The low-frills style of Pope Francis is having an effect on the upcoming canonizations of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII. Organizers of the event say the April 27 saint-making ceremony is going to be a much more sober...

John Paul II Will Be a Saint
 John Paul II Will Be a Saint 

John Paul II Will Be a Saint

All that's left is the ceremony

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II has cleared the final obstacle before being made a saint, awaiting just the final approval from Pope Francis and a date for the ceremony that could come as soon as Dec. 8, a Vatican official and news reports said today. The ANSA news agency reported that...

Vatican Beatifies Mob-Fighting Priest

'Pino' Puglisi was gunned down while preaching against mafia in Italy

(Newser) - An Italian priest who stirred consciences with his anti-mafia preaching and was gunned down by mobsters has been honored by the Vatican as a martyr. The Rev. Giuseppe `'Pino" Puglisi was beatified in a ceremony today in Palermo, the Sicilian capital where he worked in a mobster-infested, poor neighborhood....

19th-Century German Nun Performed Miracle: Vatican
19th-Century German Nun 
Performed Miracle: Vatican
in case you missed it

19th-Century German Nun Performed Miracle: Vatican

Affirmed Mother Theresia Bonzel healed Colorado Springs boy in 1999

(Newser) - For anyone looking for a miracle amidst the gloomy news, the Vatican provides: The Denver Post reports that Pope Francis has set a 19th-century German nun on a journey toward sainthood after verifying she was responsible for healing a Colorado Springs boy in 1999. In the first days of his...

Mother Teresa 'Anything but a Saint,' Says Study


 Mother Teresa 
 'Anything but 
 a Saint,' 
 Says Study 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Mother Teresa 'Anything but a Saint,' Says Study

It says she glorified suffering instead of easing it

(Newser) - Was Mother Teresa overhyped? That's what a controversial Canadian study is alleging. The paper, published in the French-language religious journal Religieuses, argues that Teresa was "anything but a saint," and even found beauty in watching people suffer, the Times of India reports. Doctors who visited some of...

Is bin Laden’s Death Pope’s 2nd Miracle?

John Paul II should get credit for the killing, Peruvian leader says

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II was beatified the same day special forces took out Osama bin Laden, and the president of Peru thinks it's no coincidence. Alan Garcia says the killing of bin Laden is the second miracle that the late pope needs to qualify for sainthood, CNN reports. The...

Benedict Beatifies John Paul II

Just 6 years after John Paul's death, beatification fastest in modern times

(Newser) - More than a million people, along with 16 heads of state and other international dignitaries, flocked to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican today for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, as the former church leader moved one step closer to sainthood. Coming just six years after the...

Pope John Paul II Deserves His Sainthood: Peggy Noonan
 John Paul 
 Deserves 
 His Sainthood 
Peggy Noonan

John Paul Deserves His Sainthood

He worked a political miracle against communism: Peggy Noonan

(Newser) - John Paul II continues his speedy path to sainthood this weekend, and Peggy Noonan thinks it's well-deserved. You want miracles? How about the political one he pulled off with his 1979 visit to his native Poland. It was simultaneously one of the "greatest moments in the history of...

Pope John Paul’s Body Exhumed for Beatification

Rome in throes of 'beatification fever'

(Newser) - Move over, wedding fever: “Beatification fever” has begun. Tens of thousands are arriving in Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II , for which the pontiff’s coffin was exhumed today. As Vatican officials—including John Paul’s closest aide, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz—watched and prayed, the coffin...

Pope John Paul II Beatification: He's No Saint, Says Maureen Dowd
 John Paul 
 Is No Saint 


Maureen Dowd

John Paul Is No Saint

Remember that whole pedophilia scandal he ignored?

(Newser) - On this Easter, Maureen Dowd turns to another resurrection of sorts next Sunday: The beatification of Pope John Paul II, or "PR boost" that Pope Benedict hopes to get from the "swiftest ascension toward sainthood on record." And while there was much to love about the "...

Pope John Paul Gets Own Facebook Page
 John Paul Hits Facebook 

John Paul Hits Facebook

Part of Vatican's social-networking push

(Newser) - Sure, Pope John Paul II is set to be beatified, but now he's even on Facebook. The Vatican, continuing its efforts to get hip with the kids, is unveiling a Facebook page to hype the late pope's May 1 beatification, featuring video highlights of his 27 years as pontiff. The...

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