Vatican City, Dec 21, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Last Saturday, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, President of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, announced in the presence of Pope John Paul, the decrees recognizing the miracles of four future saints and seven blessed, among them the “martyr of life,” Gianna Bereta Molla, and Austrian Emperor Charles I, after whom Pope John Paul was christened “Karol” (Charles.)
The decrees confirm the miracles that will bring to sainthood four blessed:
- Blessed Jose Manyanet y Vives, Spanish, priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sons and Daughters of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (1833-1901). Fr. Manyanet inspired famous architect Antonio Gaudí to build the colossal, still unconcluded, temple of the Holy Family, one of the wonders of modern architecture.
- Blessed Nimatullah Al-Hardini, Lebanese, ne Yusuf Kassab, priest of the Lebanese Maronite Order (1808-1858.) Fr. Al-Hardini was the professor of the most famous Maronite saint, St. Charbel Maklouf.
- Blessed Paola Elisabetta, Italian, born Costanza Cerioli, widow and foundress of the Holy Family Institute and the Congregation of the Holy Family (1816-1865).
- Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian mother (1922-1962). Gianna accepted death at age 39 rather than submit to treatment that would result in the abortion of her unborn child. The miracle attributed to Gianna Beretta's intercession was experienced by a Brazilian woman in early 2000, whose unborn child was saved despite losing all her amniotic fluid. The baby girl was born healthy and christened Gianna Maria.
The seven servants of God to be beatified upon the confirmation of miracles are:
- Venerable Servant of God August Czartoryski, French, priest of the Society of St. John Bosco (1858-1893).
- Venerable Servant of God Maria Guadalupe, Mexican, born Anastasia Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, cofoundress of the Congregation of the Servants of St. Margaret Mary of the Poor (1878-1963).
- Venerable Servant of God Nemesia Valle, Italian, born Giulia, religious of the Institute of Charity (1847-1916).
- Venerable Servant of God Eusebia Palomino Yenes, Spanish, religious of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Helper (1899-1935).
- Venerable Servant of God Ludovica de Angelis, Italian, born Antonina, religious of the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy (1880-1962).
- Venerable Servant of God Alesandrina Maria da Costa, Portuguese, lay member of the Union of Salesian Cooperators (1904-1955).
- Venerable Servant of God Carl of Austria, Austrian, emperor and king (1887-1922). Charles Hapsburg, ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was proclaimed Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary in 1916. Five years earlier he married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma with whom he had eight children. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell on Nov. 11, 1918, Charles abdicated. He left Austria in March, 1919, and spent his exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where he died in 1922 at age 34.
Cardinal Saraiva Martins also announced the heroic virtues of seven other candidates for beatification, including German Cardinal Clemente Augusto von Galen, bishop of Munster (1878-1946,) a harsh critic of Nazism and Racism.