Second annual festival highlights stories of candidates of canonization 

EMMITSBURG – The path to sainthood has something in common with a trial: There is testimony, evidence, historical investigation and a formal tribunal. But in the Church’s process of canonization, the goal is not to find someone guilty or innocent. It is to uncover evidence of holiness.

“It’s kind of like a trial – a civil trial, because in a certain sense, it is,” said Monsignor Robert Sarno, who spent 38 years working at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican. “The only difference is that we’re not looking to punish someone. We’re looking for holiness in the life of the church.”

Monsignor Sarno offered that explanation Sept. 13 during the second annual Saints on Their Way Festival at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg.

The festival brought together longtime parishioners, first-time visitors and representatives of 27 guilds from across the country, each promoting the cause of an American candidate for canonization.

The day began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Roy E. Campbell of the Archdiocese of Washington, followed by Sarno’s keynote address, “A Theology of Canonization.”

Monsignor Sarno explained that a cause for canonization begins at the local level before eventually making its way to Rome. Along the way, the candidate’s life and reputation for holiness are examined through a formal investigation.

A tribunal is established that includes an episcopal delegate, promoter of justice, historical commission and notary.

Monsignor Sarno also described saints as guides for Catholics making their own journey toward heaven.

“Saints are kind of like road posts on a road, but the road for us, is the pilgrimage to heaven,” Monsignor Sarno said in his address. “They assure us that we’re on the right road, but they might also slap us in the face and say ‘You’re on the wrong road! This is God talking to us.’”

Dr. Jeannine Marino, workshop moderator at the festival and professor of religious studies at Trinity Washington University, likewise emphasized the role of saints in the Church’s mission.

“We can call upon the saints to help us, protect us and guide us as we strive to living the Gospel and grow closer to the Lord,” Marino said. “We all need models of holiness.”

Monsignor Sarno explained that there are three paths to canonization: heroic virtue, martyrdom and offering of life. Of the three, heroic virtue is the most common.

For festival attendees, however, the canonization process was more than a theological or historical exercise. The guilds offered an opportunity to encounter the stories of men and women whose lives reflected the struggles and circumstances of ordinary people.

One of the guilds represented at the festival promoted the cause of Servant of God Joseph Dutton. Stephen Skelly, a parishioner of Queen of Martyrs Parish in the Diocese of Madison, Wis., represented Dutton at the event.

A Civil War veteran, Dutton experienced divorce and battled alcoholism before converting to Catholicism. He later traveled to Hawaii, where he served people with Hansen’s disease alongside St. Damien of Molokai.

Skelly hopes Dutton’s story can offer encouragement to people facing similar struggles today.

“There may be somebody that’s having those alcoholism, divorce problems and things like that, and they can look at it and say, ‘He turned his life around. I can do it too,’” Skelly said. “It kind of helps build the faith. If we don’t put it out there, people wouldn’t know.”

For Jakob Wilde, a parishioner of St. Raphael in Rockville, the festival offered a chance to encounter the enthusiasm of those promoting each cause.

“They start talking your ear off about their (potential) saint. They want you to get interested in their cause for canonization and everything. It’s always good to hear that,” Wilde said.

Mary Harper, a parishioner of Ss. Philip and James in Charles Village, was similarly enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn more about potential saints.

“I love learning about all of our new saint friends. It’s just exciting cause you get to be really caught up in the process,” she said. “It just reminds you again of that universal call of holiness, that the Lord is calling you to extraordinary things in the ordinary.”

Harper said events such as the festival also help Catholics see candidates for sainthood as real people rather than distant, idealized figures.

“I think a lot of times the saints can feel just very distant and like these very perfect painted pictures. I think seeing the photographs and talking to people who had some encounter with them or have these letters from them, it reminds you that they struggled and it’s real, and it wasn’t that long ago that these people lived,” Harper said.

For Christopher Anadale, a parishioner of St. Aloysius in Littlestown, Pa., the festival served as a reminder that the Church’s roster of saints extends well beyond the familiar names Catholics often encounter in prayer and liturgy.

“It’s great to expand our catalog of saints that we have in our minds. A lot of us think of the same saints that we can mention in the liturgy or that are mentioned in your prayers or have a special devotion,” Anadale said.

He hopes the festival will encourage Catholics to continue discovering candidates whose stories speak to the challenges and circumstances of life today.

“There are a lot of saints out here that are doing and have done things that are relevant to people’s lives and have causes that I think would be very interesting to a lot of different people in different walks of life. I think knowing more about them, especially as they move closer to being declared blessed or canonized, is just fantastic.”

Among those currently being considered for sainthood are several who served in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, including Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Venerable Mother Mary Lange, Father Demetrius Augustin Gallitzin and Bishop Simon Bruté de Remur.

Email Jenna Mattern at jmattern@CatholicReview.org

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