Saints
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha has been beatified, but not yet canonized as a saint. Her cause for sainthood is rapidly advancing, however, and she will probably be canonized for public veneration before long. Although canonization has not yet occurred, so we cannot be absolutely sure of her sainthood, nevertheless, those who know about the life and work of the "Lilly of the Mohawks" are convinced she is a saint in heaven. The blessed who are beatified but not yet canonized can be honored with private prayers and veneration, while public honor and veneration must await their being "elevated to the honors of the altar." Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is the glory of all Native Americans and one of the spiritually most beautiful people of the American Indians.
Reprinted from January 30, 1998
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Is
Joan of Arc a saint?
Yes. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1919. Captured and sold to the English, she was unjustly condemned by the evil Bishop Cauchon of Beauvais and turned over the secular arm to be put to death. Saint Joan appealed to the pope but her captors refused to send her appeal to Rome and, although she was innocent, cruelly burned her at the stake for witchcraft and heresy in 1431.
Reprinted from January 31, 1997
Who is the patron saint
of the blind?
Either Saint Odilia or St. Raphael the Archangel
Reprinted June 20, 1997
Is it permissible to read and believe the "revelations" in the book,
"The Mystical City of God" by Venerable Mary Agreda?
If one wants to read and believe what is in that book, it appears there is nothing contrary to our faith and morals that would be involved. The so-called "revelations" should be treated as any alleged private revelations that have never been condemned by Church authorities.
Reprinted from May 16, 1997
Who is the patron saint of Italy and who is the patron saint of the United
States?
The Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the United States. This was decided in the last century by the U.S. bishops and confirmed by the Holy See. Italy has two patron saints, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Francis of Assisi.
Reprinted from May 9, 1997
Who is the patron saint of the Boy Scouts of America?
The patron saint of the Boy Scouts is the Martyr St. George.
Reprinted from April 18, 1997
Has a process for the canonization for the American Catholic monk, Thomas
Merton, begun yet?
As far as I can find out, there has been no process yet introduced for the canonization of Thomas Merton. If there were to be one, it would have to be initiated by his religious order (Cistercians of the Strict Observance-Trappists) or by the Archdiocese in which he lived most of his life. More information about this perhaps could be obtained by communicating with Gethsemane Abbey or with the Archdiocese of Louisville.
Reprinted from August 15, 1997
Do
baptized babies who die before they reach the use of reason become angels?
No. They are saints.
Reprinted from November
29, 1996
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