Catherine McAuley Venerable: 30 Years On

The memory of that time is still very fresh for all that a lengthy time has elapsed.

In those thirty years there have been many projects undertaken to make Catherine known and loved, the continuance of proof of her great fame for holiness not only in her native country but in so many other places spread across the English speaking world and indeed beyond. In some places symposia and conferences on Catherine, her life and legacy have highlighted the gift that Catherine is to the Church universal and the extraordinary impact this quiet genteel woman from the city of Dublin has on people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.

Local groups abound to promote Catherine’s cause and also to be of service in many and diverse ways to local communities all around the world. These services among others include prayer, funding projects to help the economic and socially poor both locally and in other places, reaching out in hospitality and care to the stranger and the dispossessed. Above all, in recent times groups that share Catherine’s thirst for justice have been to the forefront in working tirelessly to protect a planet and its dwindling resources so that new generations in every part of the globe might be enabled to live and breathe in what is our natural common home.

The year of Mercy, initiated by Pope Francis, was indeed a time of renewed energy and fervor in promoting Catherine’s cause. Many wonderful Mercy initiatives were carried out in every place where the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy ever walked and indeed in many places where they didn’t. Everybody will have their own memory of that memorable rejuvenating year and for me in particular the Mercy pilgrimage organized by MIA to Rome was a highlight, together with the tsunami of letters that were written directly to Pope Francis asking that Catherine be beatified.

In February of that year, the news of a possible alleged healing through the intercession of Catherine was brought to the attention of the postulation and over the past three to four years there has been steady progress in preparing the material for presentation to the Consulta Medica and the Consulta Teologica in the Congregation for Causes in Rome. The diocesan inquiry was held in the diocese of Tulsa Oklahoma where the alleged healing took place. The acts of the diocesan tribunal were duly gathered, notarized and delivered in person to the Congregation for Causes. The publication of the Acts of the Diocesan Inquiry and the Decree of Validity (that the Diocesan Tribunal followed the requirements set down in Canon Law) were promulgated in due course.

All the materials are in English and because there is a requirement by the Congregation for Causes that the materials be translated into Italian for greater clarity and understanding, the materials are now at the stage of being translated into Italian. This is a painstaking process because of the detail required and the importance of exact translation. It is hoped that the materials will be ready to go to the printer in March/April 2020.

We earnestly ask you to continue to keep Catherine’s cause in your prayer. We hope and pray that this thirtieth celebration, the beginning of a new decade, will be the time we see Catherine beatified.

Messages to: Brenda Dolphin rsm - Postulator

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