Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Oscar Romero to be canonised – ACN Malta

Pope Paul VI and Oscar Romero to be canonised

At a meeting with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, Pope Francis signed decrees for the causes of 13 men and women — among them Pope Paul V! and Archbishop Romero of San Salvador, The Vatican announced that Pope Francis has recognized a second miracle, allowing a date to be set for their canonization so they can officially be declared saints. Both miracles attributed to Paul VI’s intercession involve the healing of an unborn child.

Pope Francis himself unofficially confirmed the news of Paul VI’s canonization during his annual meeting with the priests of Rome on 17Feb. However, the Vatican’s announcement makes it official. According to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, Bl. Pope Paul VI will be declared a saint in late October at the end of the Synod of Bishops on youth and discernment. No date has yet been confirmed for Bl. Oscar Romero’s canonisation. El Salvador’s ambassador to the Holy See, Manuel Roberto Lopez, said that the news of the Pope’s approval “took us by surprise.” “They told us before that the process was going well and that all we needed was the approval of the miracle,” adding that he was happy that Blessed Oscar Romero’s canonisation was imminent and that his holiness was recognised alongside one of his earliest supporters. “To see that he will be canonised along with (Blessed) Paul VI, who was a great friend of Archbishop Romero and supported his work, is a great blessing,” Lopez said. Blessed Paul, who was born Giovanni Battista Montini in 1897 in the town of Concesio in Lombardy, was ordained a priest at the age of 22. He served first as Archbishop of Milan prior to his election as pope.

Pope Paul VI oversaw much of the Second Vatican Council, which had been opened by Pope St. John XXIII, and in 1969 promulgated a new Roman Missal.  Apart from his role in the Council, PaulVI is most widely known for his landmark encyclical Humanae Vitae, which was published in 1968 and reaffirmed the Church’s teaching against contraception in wake of the sexual revolution. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic encyclical, making the canonization of the author all the more relevant. He died in 1978 and was beatified by Pope Francis on 19 Oct 2014.

Bl. Oscar Romero was the archbishop of the nation’s capital city of San Salvador. He was an outspoken critic of the violence and injustices being committed at the time. Romero was shot while celebrating Mass on 24 March 1980, at the start of a civil war between leftist guerrilla forces and the dictatorial government of the right. Romero was declared a martyr who was killed in hatred of the faith for his vocal defence of human rights and was beatified by Pope Francis on 23 May 2015.

ACN Malta