Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien was to preside over the opening session of the cause for sainthood of Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton during the 12:10 p.m. Mass Nov. 20 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.
Father Peyton emigrated from Ireland in 1928 at age 19, was ordained in 1941 and conducted rosary crusades in 40 nations.
According to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Father Peyton was known as the “Rosary Priest” on radio and television in the 1940s and ’50s, when he coined the phrase, “The family that prays together stays together.”
The investigation into the cause for his sainthood, which opened in June 2001, was moved from the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., to the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Members of the ecclesiastical tribunal, which will investigate the life and ministry of Father Peyton, were to be sworn-in during the Nov. 20 Mass and receive instruction from the archbishop as to how the inquiry will proceed.
At various steps in the canonization process, evidence of alleged miracles is presented. In general, two miracles need to be accepted by the church as having occurred through the intercession of the prospective saint.
The archdiocese has previously been involved in the causes of canonization of Sr. Faustina Kowalska, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange and Father Francis Xavier Selos.
