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 St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome  Photo courtesy of The Catholic Advocate Archbishop John J. Myers signs documentation papers. (l to r) S. Maureen Shaughnessy, General Superior of the Sisters of Charity; Dr. Mary Mazzarella, the medical expert; Fr. James Sheehan, a member of the tribunal; and S. Marian Jose Smith, vice postulator for the Cause, look on.  |
Progress of the Cause for Beatification of Sister Miriam Teresa
(1901-1927)
The Ordinary (diocesan) Processes of the Cause were completed in the 1970’s
under the direction of Father Stephen Findlay, O.S.B., vice postulator of
the Cause, and Sister Mary Zita Geis, S.C., director of the League of
Prayer. These testimonies were sent to Rome and translated into Italian.
The testimonies of the Apostolic Process were held from May 18, 1981 to
December 18, 1981. A Summary of the testimonies was prepared under the
direction of Father Ambrose Eszer, O.P., Relator General of the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints, and sent to Rome with other related documents
through the 1990’s. In 1999 the final portion of the Positio super
virtutibus: the Biography of Sister Miriam Teresa and her Virtues, prepared
by Sister Francis Maria Cassidy, S.C. and Sister Eileen Dolan, S.C., was
brought to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome and delivered
to Father Eszer, O.P. Dr. Sylvia Correale, postulator of the Cause, expanded
the summary of the life and virtues.
There remained only the documentation of the presumed first class miracle:
the restoration of perfect vision to a boy who was legally blind as a result
of juvenile macular degeneration. The Newark Archdiocesan Tribunal
investigated the alleged miracle. The documentation, the Positio super Miro,
was prepared by Sister Marian Jose Smith, vice postulator, and Dr. Mary
Mazzarella, medical expert and consultant.
On July 8, 2005, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark,
New Jersey, an historic ceremony took place, bringing closure to the
investigative process for the beatification of Servant of God Sister Miriam
Teresa. Newark Archbishop John J. Myers presided over the ceremony of
signing and sealing the final documents which present the Cause to Vatican
authorities.
A Mass followed, celebrated in Our Lady’s Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica,
presided over by Newark Archbishop John J. Myers. Concelebrants were
Monsignor Robert Fuhrman, Monsignor Frank Del Prete, and Father James
Sheehan, members of the tribunal.
Two boxes, each of which contained a duplicate copy of the documents, were
wrapped and sealed with wax. Sister Maureen Shaughnessy, S.C., General
Superior of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, personally delivered
the documents to the office of the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington, D.C. They
were then taken to Rome in the diplomatic pouch of the Nuncio and delivered
to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The original documents were placed in the archives of the Archdiocese of
Newark.
In Rome the documents will be studied by the Medical Board. If they rule
favorably on the cure, the case will be submitted to a Consistory of
Cardinals. If their judgement is favorable, the Cause will be presented to
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who will then pronounce the Servant of God
"Blessed".
It remains for us to pray and to make every effort to spread the mission and
message of Sister Miriam Teresa worldwide.
Sister Miriam Teresa League Headquarters |
P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, NJ 07961-0476
E-mail:
msmith@cse.edu or
dolacass1@aol.com | 973-290-4084 or
973-290-5465
