Pope advances sainthood causes of four candidates, including a queen

03 May, 2013 - Pope Francis on Thursday cleared two miracles for beatification and recognized the heroic virtues of two others, advancing the sainthood cause of the four. Cardinal Angelo Amato the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints presented for the Holy Father’s approval the miracle attributed to the intercession of Maria Cristina of Savoy, the 19th century Queen of the Two Sicilies. She died in Naples in 1836 at the age of 23. The other miracle the Pope approved is attributed to the intercession of a 55-year old Italian lay woman, Maria Bolognesi who died in 1980. The heroic virtues of the following two were also recognized: Spanish priest Fr. Joaquín Rosselló y Ferrá, the founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who died in 1909 and Polish nun Maria Teresa of St. Joseph, foundress of the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Child Jesus, who died in 1946.