Filipino diocese advances sainthood cause for lay catechist Laureana ‘Ka Luring’ Franco

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2024 / 14:07 pm

Bishop Mylo Hubert C. Vergara of the Diocese of Pasig in the Philippines announced last month that the Vatican has given permission to continue with the sainthood cause of Servant of God Laureana “Ka Luring” Franco. 

The diocese had in February opened Franco’s sainthood cause, and on July 10, the bishop publicized a “nihil obstat” document from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints allowing the diocese to continue investigating her life. 

Franco, a longtime member of the Legion of Mary, dedicated her life to teaching the Catholic faith, praying, and serving the poor. She died in 2011 at age 75 of ovarian cancer. 

Born into a poor family in 1936, the oldest of eight children, Franco was brought up with strong faith thanks to the witness of her parents. She worked for a time as a switchboard operator for the Philippine Air Force before joining the Legion of Mary as a full-time, unpaid catechist in 1969. 

According to AsiaNews, a Catholic news site, Franco was at the time one of only two laywomen authorized to administer Communion in the Archdiocese of Manila. She was distinguished for her service to the poor, which she did while living a humble life and without seeking any recognition for herself. 

In February, the Diocese of Pasig, which includes her hometown of Taguig, announced Franco’s candidacy for sainthood.

And at an Aug. 21 event at the archdiocesan minor basilica and shrine of St. Anne in Taguig City, the postulator of Franco’s cause, Erickson Javier, presented the bishop with the “supplex libellus,” a collection of documents requesting that the diocesan phase of Franco’s cause be officially opened.

Now that the diocesan phase is open, a diocesan tribunal will investigate Franco’s life to see how she lived a life of heroic virtue. Once that investigation is done, the resulting set of documents, known as a “positio,” will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

If the pope recognizes Franco’s heroic virtue, she will be declared “venerable.” The next step would be beatification — being declared “blessed” — which requires at least one miracle attributed to her intercession. The final step in the sainthood process is canonization, where the pope officially declares a person to be a saint.

For her work as a catechist, St. John Paul II in 1990 bestowed on Franco the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award, an honor given to Catholics over age 45 with a history of long and distinguished service to the Church and the office of the pope. Franco was also bestowed the Mother Teresa Award in 2002 by St. John Paul II.