Vatican okays sainthood bid of Pasig lay catechist

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A LAY catechist from the Diocese of Pasig may be included in the Catholic Church’s roster of saints.

This after the Vatican approved the opening of an inquiry into the cause for sainthood of Laureana Franco.

In a post on social media, Pasig Bishop Mylo Vergara said he was handed by Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles John Brown “the ‘nihil obstat’ from Rome for the cause of beatification and canonization of Servant of God Laureana ‘Ka Luring’ Franco.”

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In the document signed by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints, the Holy See said it does not see any reason to prevent the cause for sainthood of Franco, who passed away in 2011 from cancer.

The “nihil obstat” was sent in response to Vergara’s letter in March 2024 asking whether there is anything that prevents the cause of beatification and canonization. The letter comes a month after the Pasig Diocese opened Franco’s cause for sainthood.

According to CBCP News, Franco had served as a volunteer catechist beginning in the late 1960s. Her reputation for holiness was known to then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin, who gave her the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award on behalf of Pope St. John Paul II in 1990.

With the issuance of the “nihil obstat,” the Diocese of Pasig is now allowed to proceed with an inquiry into Franco’s heroic virtues, which is one of the first steps that could lead to her beatification and eventual sainthood. The diocesan inquiry documentation will then be sent to the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes for review.

If Franco is deemed to have led a heroic life of Christian virtues, the Church will bestow upon her the title “Venerable,” said CBCP News.

 

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