Pope Leo XIV Brings 6 People Closer to Sainthood in Authorizing Promulgation of Decrees by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints
Pope Leo XIV has authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decrees recognizing the offering of the life of Cardinal Ludovico Altieri and the heroic virtues of Edward Joseph Flanagan, founder of the Boys' City, and Henri Caffarel, founder of the "Equipes Notre Dame" Association and the Secular Institute "Fraternity of Our Lady of the Resurrection," Stanisława Samulowska and Maria of Bethlehem of the Heart of Jesus Romero Algarín, respectively, a nun of the Society of the Daughters of St. Vincent de Paul and of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Divine Heart, and finally Giuseppe Castagnetti, a layperson. The Pontiff made the decision today, March 23, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the same dicastery.
Cardinal Ludovico Altieri
Born in Rome on July 17, 1805, in the heart of Rome, to a noble family, Ludovico Altieri was directed by his parents to the diplomatic service of the Holy See. At the age of 21, he was appointed supernumerary secret chamberlain by Pope Leo XII and charged, as ablegate, with carrying the cardinal's hat to the Archbishop of Reims, Cardinal Jean-Baptiste de Latil. He then matured the desire to become a priest and was privately ordained a sacellum ad Vaticanum on March 24, 1833. Among his subsequent appointments were Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Studies and Qualifier of the Holy Office, and Vicar of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Via Lata. Pope Gregory XVI elevated him to titular Archbishop of Ephesus, and on July 18, 1836, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Vienna, where he remained for nine years. On December 14, 1840, the Pope himself chose him as cardinal in pectore , and published his creation on April 21, 1845. Ludovico immediately held various positions within the Curia. Chosen as Pro-Secretary of the Memorials, he resided in the Quirinal Palace, the Pope's residence. Over the years, he held various roles. In the secret consistory of December 17, 1860, Pope Pius IX assigned him the Church of Albano. When cholera reached the town in August 1867, Ludovico rushed there to manage the health emergency, be close to the people, and administer the sacraments. Having contracted the disease, he died on August 11, 1867. Called a "martyr of charity" for his tireless and loving dedication in assisting and comforting the sick and dying, his reputation for sanctity spread rapidly. The cause concerning him aims to demonstrate that his premature death, in the context in which it occurred, was an offering of life, according to the criteria of Pope Francis' motu proprio Maiorem hac dilectionem , and for this reason he is venerable from today.
Fr. Edward Joseph Flanagan
Edward Joseph Flanagan was born on July 13, 1886, in Ballymoe, Ireland. The eighth of 11 children, he moved to the United States at the age of 18, persuaded by one of his brothers. After earning a bachelor's degree in literature and philosophy, he was admitted to Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York. However, during his first year, he fell seriously ill and remained in the seminary infirmary for nearly five months, until doctors advised him to suspend his studies and return home. He developed chronic lung disease that would remain with him for the rest of his life. Upon his recovery, he was sent to study in Rome, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, but a relapse of the disease forced him to return to the United States during his first year. He worked for a time in the accounting department of the Cudahy Packing Company , before resuming his studies. He was ordained a priest in Innsbruck on July 26, 1912. As assistant parish priest at Saint Patrick's, which was hit by a tornado eight days after his arrival, Father Flanagan worked tirelessly to be close to the people, help the victims and their families, and respond to their needs. In 1914, in collaboration with the St. Vincent de Paul Association, he developed the project of a hostel for the unemployed, the Workingmen's Hotel , where he realized the need to offer adequate education to boys. He then established the Boys Home in Omaha on December 12, 1917 , to take in abandoned or abused minors. The work quickly grew, and Father Flanagan purchased Overlook Farm , a farm of about 150 acres, where the Boys Home later moved . The facility took the name Boys Town , with 280 boys and a construction project for new buildings, for which a significant fundraising effort was launched. In 1934, it became a citadel founded on a form of self-government. Father Flanagan played a paternal role for hundreds of boys and worked to raise awareness of the work. In September 1945, after the end of World War II, he worked to welcome a large number of orphaned boys and their families to Boys Town . In 1947, he traveled to Japan and Korea, where there was already a movement to build a Boys Town . The great success of this trip brought him to Vienna to help plan the system of assistance for war orphans. On May 15, 1948, while in Berlin, he died of a sudden heart attack. Upon his repatriation, approximately 30,000 people paid homage to his remains. His idea led to the establishment of 89 Boys Towns.throughout the world. His fame spread in particular through a feature film released in 1938 and distributed in Italy, starting in 1946, with the title La città dei ragazzi .
Edward Joseph Flanagan
Henri Caffarel
A French national, Henri Caffarel was born in Lyon on July 30, 1903. In 1923, reading the book Vademecum proposé aux âmes religieuses by the Italian nun Benigna Consolata Ferrero, he sensed his vocation to the consecrated life. He attended the Abbey of Auberive (Grand-Est), but health problems prevented him from following the usual path of seminarians. However, the superior of the Seminary of the Carmes in Paris enrolled him as a free auditor at the Institut Catholique . Ordained a priest on April 19, 1930, he worked in the general secretariat of the JOC ( Jeunesse Ouverière Chrétienne ), then in that of Catholic Action as general secretary of the Centrale catholique du cinéma et de la radio . He later directed the magazine Choisir , a weekly created in 1932 to inform and educate the public on the use of cinema and radio, as well as to promote their improvement. In 1936, he left all his positions to devote himself to preaching spiritual retreats and leading gatherings, especially for young people, and in 1939 he began a new form of apostolate, a ministry dedicated to the accompaniment of married couples. The groups soon grew, and thus, subsequently, the équipes Notre Dame were born . On September 8, 1943, in the Lourdes grotto, together with seven widows, he sought the intercession of the Virgin Mary to understand God's will for the founding of a new group dedicated to widowed women. In 1977, this new group was named the "Fraternity of Our Lady of the Resurrection ." In the 1950s, Father Caffarel traveled extensively to establish and support new team centers : Belgium, Egypt, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Poland, and the United States are just some of the countries he visited. In the 1960s, he ran a large house in Troussures and organized weeks of prayer open to all—laypeople, priests, singles, and married people. He died on September 18, 1996, in Beauvais.
Henri Caffarel
Stanisława Samulowska
Also venerable today, Stanisława Samulowska was born on January 30, 1865, to a family of farmers in Woryty, in the diocese of Warmia (East Prussia). Still twelve years old, while preparing for her First Communion, she and some of her companions had several apparitions of the Virgin Mary. To avoid arrest by the Prussian authorities, hostile to Catholicism and the Poles, through the parish priest's intervention, she was hosted by a friend of her family, and then by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, which she later decided to enter. After her formative years, on February 2, 1889, she took her vows in Paris, where she remained for about 12 years, dedicating herself to caring for children and providing shelter at the home of the Daughters of Charity in Belleville. On August 9, 1895, she was sent to Guatemala, where she remained for the rest of her life, dedicating herself according to the Vincentian charism. She held various positions, including Superior of the Novitiate and then Superior of the Provincial Hospital of Antigua and other Provincial Hospitals, a position she held until 1917 and where she distinguished herself for her special care for the sick. She was deeply committed to the hospital, building a chapel and later a basilica. Sister Stanisława died at the age of 85 on December 8, 1950, after a serious cancer attack that had struck hard in the last year of her life. Her funeral was attended by a large crowd of people and numerous civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries.
Stanisława Samulowska
Mary of Bethlehem of the Heart of Jesus Romero Algarín
Maria Dolores Romero Algarín was born in Seville on October 6, 1916. She was orphaned as a child and, together with some friends, began a series of apostolic and charitable activities, dedicating herself particularly to needy children and the poorest laborers. Later, she fell in love with a young man, who reciprocated her love. After injuring his leg in a motorcycle accident, he later recovered and attributed the accident to the Virgin Mary. Maria Dolores believed this to be a sign of her calling to follow Jesus Christ in consecrated life. Thus, on March 19, 1938, at the age of 21, she entered the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Divine Heart, beginning her postulancy in Moguer (Huelva). Adopting the name María Belén del Corazón de Jesús, she was assigned to the College of Aracena (Huelva), where she worked as a teacher and was responsible for the students. She carried out the same activities in other houses and meanwhile her missionary vocation developed. On January 16, 1953, she was sent as superior and foundress to the mission of Dianópólis (Tocantins), in the heart of Brazil. Here, in addition to caring for the poor and the sick, she extended her apostolate to the surrounding villages. In 1962, appointed superior of the community and director of the Volta Redonda College (Rio de Janeiro), she faced a difficult transition but devoted herself to school activities, the formation of young nuns, and the promotion of numerous apostolic and charitable works, such as prison visits and the founding of the "Association Servir" to assist the poor. In the following years, she was entrusted with new assignments, which she carried out with a spirit of service, even when the community of Valdezorras suffered a "dark night." In 1977, she was diagnosed with lung cancer with bone metastases and died on November 12.
Mary of Bethlehem of the Heart of Jesus Romero Algarín
Joseph Castagnetti
Giuseppe Castagnetti was born in the province of Modena, in the hamlet of Ringola, near Montebaranzone, a hamlet in the municipality of Prignano sulla Secchia, on March 15, 1909, the fourth youngest of at least 13 children. Giuseppe was educated in Catholic Action and was about twenty when he developed a personal relationship with Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, whose spiritual son he considered himself. In 1928, he took over the management of a dairy farm in Sterpatelli from his brother Adolfo. His work was extremely demanding, but he made adequate time for his spiritual life. On February 11, 1939, he married Giovannina Seghedoni, with whom he had 12 children between 1940 and 1958. Years later, he became the sole owner of the dairy farm, while also dealing with the problems of his wife, who was diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. For this reason, Giuseppe took on the task of raising his children morally and in the Christian faith. Elected mayor of Prignano sulla Secchia in the aftermath of World War II, he devoted himself primarily to caring for the most vulnerable, working to rebuild the municipal roads, water, electricity, and telephone lines, and the sewer system. He also oversaw the public housing plan, school construction, and public green space, and opened a pediatric clinic and a health center, providing the most needy workers with free medical visits. For his services to the reconstruction effort, he was named a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on June 2, 1954. He continued to serve his town even after his term ended, subsequently taking on small manual labor. Becoming vulnerable because of his lack of institutional status, he became the target of petty behavior and moral humiliation. He died on June 22, 1965, asking for forgiveness and forgiving all those who had wronged him. On June 26, 2005, 40 years after his death, the mayor of Prignano sulla Secchia unveiled a bronze bust in his honor in front of the town hall.
A French national, Henri Caffarel was born in Lyon on July 30, 1903. In 1923, reading the book Vademecum proposé aux âmes religieuses by the Italian nun Benigna Consolata Ferrero, he sensed his vocation to the consecrated life. He attended the Abbey of Auberive (Grand-Est), but health problems prevented him from following the usual path of seminarians. However, the superior of the Seminary of the Carmes in Paris enrolled him as a free auditor at the Institut Catholique . Ordained a priest on April 19, 1930, he worked in the general secretariat of the JOC ( Jeunesse Ouverière Chrétienne ), then in that of Catholic Action as general secretary of the Centrale catholique du cinéma et de la radio . He later directed the magazine Choisir , a weekly created in 1932 to inform and educate the public on the use of cinema and radio, as well as to promote their improvement. In 1936, he left all his positions to devote himself to preaching spiritual retreats and leading gatherings, especially for young people, and in 1939 he began a new form of apostolate, a ministry dedicated to the accompaniment of married couples. The groups soon grew, and thus, subsequently, the équipes Notre Dame were born . On September 8, 1943, in the Lourdes grotto, together with seven widows, he sought the intercession of the Virgin Mary to understand God's will for the founding of a new group dedicated to widowed women. In 1977, this new group was named the "Fraternity of Our Lady of the Resurrection ." In the 1950s, Father Caffarel traveled extensively to establish and support new team centers : Belgium, Egypt, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Poland, and the United States are just some of the countries he visited. In the 1960s, he ran a large house in Troussures and organized weeks of prayer open to all—laypeople, priests, singles, and married people. He died on September 18, 1996, in Beauvais.
Henri Caffarel
Stanisława Samulowska
Also venerable today, Stanisława Samulowska was born on January 30, 1865, to a family of farmers in Woryty, in the diocese of Warmia (East Prussia). Still twelve years old, while preparing for her First Communion, she and some of her companions had several apparitions of the Virgin Mary. To avoid arrest by the Prussian authorities, hostile to Catholicism and the Poles, through the parish priest's intervention, she was hosted by a friend of her family, and then by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, which she later decided to enter. After her formative years, on February 2, 1889, she took her vows in Paris, where she remained for about 12 years, dedicating herself to caring for children and providing shelter at the home of the Daughters of Charity in Belleville. On August 9, 1895, she was sent to Guatemala, where she remained for the rest of her life, dedicating herself according to the Vincentian charism. She held various positions, including Superior of the Novitiate and then Superior of the Provincial Hospital of Antigua and other Provincial Hospitals, a position she held until 1917 and where she distinguished herself for her special care for the sick. She was deeply committed to the hospital, building a chapel and later a basilica. Sister Stanisława died at the age of 85 on December 8, 1950, after a serious cancer attack that had struck hard in the last year of her life. Her funeral was attended by a large crowd of people and numerous civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries.
Stanisława Samulowska
Mary of Bethlehem of the Heart of Jesus Romero Algarín
Maria Dolores Romero Algarín was born in Seville on October 6, 1916. She was orphaned as a child and, together with some friends, began a series of apostolic and charitable activities, dedicating herself particularly to needy children and the poorest laborers. Later, she fell in love with a young man, who reciprocated her love. After injuring his leg in a motorcycle accident, he later recovered and attributed the accident to the Virgin Mary. Maria Dolores believed this to be a sign of her calling to follow Jesus Christ in consecrated life. Thus, on March 19, 1938, at the age of 21, she entered the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Divine Heart, beginning her postulancy in Moguer (Huelva). Adopting the name María Belén del Corazón de Jesús, she was assigned to the College of Aracena (Huelva), where she worked as a teacher and was responsible for the students. She carried out the same activities in other houses and meanwhile her missionary vocation developed. On January 16, 1953, she was sent as superior and foundress to the mission of Dianópólis (Tocantins), in the heart of Brazil. Here, in addition to caring for the poor and the sick, she extended her apostolate to the surrounding villages. In 1962, appointed superior of the community and director of the Volta Redonda College (Rio de Janeiro), she faced a difficult transition but devoted herself to school activities, the formation of young nuns, and the promotion of numerous apostolic and charitable works, such as prison visits and the founding of the "Association Servir" to assist the poor. In the following years, she was entrusted with new assignments, which she carried out with a spirit of service, even when the community of Valdezorras suffered a "dark night." In 1977, she was diagnosed with lung cancer with bone metastases and died on November 12.
Mary of Bethlehem of the Heart of Jesus Romero Algarín
Joseph Castagnetti
Giuseppe Castagnetti was born in the province of Modena, in the hamlet of Ringola, near Montebaranzone, a hamlet in the municipality of Prignano sulla Secchia, on March 15, 1909, the fourth youngest of at least 13 children. Giuseppe was educated in Catholic Action and was about twenty when he developed a personal relationship with Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, whose spiritual son he considered himself. In 1928, he took over the management of a dairy farm in Sterpatelli from his brother Adolfo. His work was extremely demanding, but he made adequate time for his spiritual life. On February 11, 1939, he married Giovannina Seghedoni, with whom he had 12 children between 1940 and 1958. Years later, he became the sole owner of the dairy farm, while also dealing with the problems of his wife, who was diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. For this reason, Giuseppe took on the task of raising his children morally and in the Christian faith. Elected mayor of Prignano sulla Secchia in the aftermath of World War II, he devoted himself primarily to caring for the most vulnerable, working to rebuild the municipal roads, water, electricity, and telephone lines, and the sewer system. He also oversaw the public housing plan, school construction, and public green space, and opened a pediatric clinic and a health center, providing the most needy workers with free medical visits. For his services to the reconstruction effort, he was named a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on June 2, 1954. He continued to serve his town even after his term ended, subsequently taking on small manual labor. Becoming vulnerable because of his lack of institutional status, he became the target of petty behavior and moral humiliation. He died on June 22, 1965, asking for forgiveness and forgiving all those who had wronged him. On June 26, 2005, 40 years after his death, the mayor of Prignano sulla Secchia unveiled a bronze bust in his honor in front of the town hall.
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