Pope recognizes miracles, martyrdom and virtues for sainthood causes

(July 2, 2010) The Catholic Church will soon have a new saint following Pope Benedict XVI acknowledging a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Luigi Guanella, an Italian priest who founded two orders, the Servants of Charity and the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence. Blessed Luigi Guanella who lived from 1842 to 1915 was a contemporary of Don Bosco. The decree on his miracle was part of a total 16 decrees promulgated on Thursday by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the presence of the Pope. Five of the decrees were on miracles, five on martyrdom and 6 on heroic virtues. The other four miracles concerned Italians from the 20th century, conferring on them the title Servant of God. One died at the age of 18. The 5 decrees on martyrdom concern 29 candidates – a Hungarian-born bishop killed in Romania, a French nun, 24 Spaniards killed during the civil war in 1936 and 3 Germans killed by the Nazis in 1943. Among the five whose heroic virtues were recognized are two Italians, an Argentinean, an American and a Spaniard.