Church To Proclaim Two Saints, 320 Blessed

Church To Proclaim Two Saints, 320 Blessed

VATICAN
CITY, JUNE 3, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI authorized the
promulgation of the decrees that clear the way for two canonizations
and 320 beatifications.

The
Vatican made the announcement Friday after the Pope received in
audience Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the
Congregation for Saints' Causes.

The
Holy Father approved the decrees that allow for the canonization of
Poor Clare Sister Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (1910-1946) of
India, and laywoman Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán
(1833-1869) of Ecuador.

Also
recognized were the miracles and martyrdom of 320 candidates for
beatification, and the "heroic virtue" of seven candidates who now
await the recognition of a miracle for their beatification.

Martyrdom
was recognized for 127 religious killed during the Spanish Civil War:
Augustinian priest Avellino Rodríguez Alonso and 97 companions
of the same order, along with six diocesan clergy, and Emmanuela of the
Heart of Jesus and 22 companions of the Institute of Adorers of the
Most Holy Sacrament and of Charity.

Jesuit priest Peter Kibe Kasui and 187 companions, killed in Japan in 1600, were also recognized as martyrs.

Martyrdom
was attributed as well to Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian
peasant who was guillotined in Berlin in 1943 for having refused any
collaboration with the Nazis. He was 36, a husband and a father of
three.

A theologian and
philosopher of the first half of the 19th century, Father Antonio
Rosmini, will be beatified. Father Rosmini was the founder of the
Institute of Charity and the Sisters of Providence.