The Cause for Canonization of Brother André. A Well-Guarded Secret

The cause for the canonization of Brother André entered a new phase in March 2008 as announced by the The Oratory magazine in its May-June 2008 edition. The vice postulator for the cause, Father Mario Lachapelle, CSC, stated that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had mandated a medical commission to study a cure attributed to the intercession's conclusions were not yet known.

by Nathalie Dumas

Holy Cross religious are providing few details on the cure considered to be miraculous. ''The family prefers to remain anonymous, and we have agreed not to reveal the identity of the individual concerned'', explains Father Claude Grou, rector of Saint Joseph's Oratory. ''In any case, until the commissions in Rome announce their decision, it is inappropriate to make public any more information on the topic'', adds the Rector.

It is not easy to learn more about the various steps taken regarding the cause for canonization in recent years, as people who have worked on the project observe the strictest secrecy. We can however add a few details to the chronological list of events that have oddured since 2004.

The Family Gives Its Consent to the Diocesan Trial

The cause for the canonization of Brother André has made great strides in the past four years. When the centenary of Saint Joseph's Oratory was celebrated in 2004, shrine officials received the consent of the above-mentioned family to have the extraordinary cure officially examined. Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, Archbishop of Montréal, authorized a diocesan investigation be held into the cure attribuated to Brother André. Fifteen people testified before the tribunal in February 2005: family members, doctors and religious. At the end of the process, an imposing 1400-page document was compiled. Two sealed copies were sent to the Vatican on March 2, 2005, to the attention of Doctor Andrea Ambrosi, postulator for the cause. The original volume was entered in the archives of the Diocesan Curia of the Archdiocese of Montréal and a copy was submitted to the archives at Saint Joseph's Oratory.

During the following autumn, additional information and corrections were added to the case file. Finally, on February 1^st, 2006, an Italian translation of the trial proceedings was approved by the authorities of the Montréal tribunal and sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. Once again, thickly bound documents were tied up in packages and sealed according to strict regulations.

The official documents bore the seal of the Tribunal of the Causes of Saints of the Archdiocese of Montréal, and were signed by the Episcopal delegate, Father Benoît-Marc Boyer, by the Promoter of Justice, Father Théo Pelletier and by the Mandated Notary, Brother Donald Nadeau, CSC, all three of whom had participated in all of the trial proceedings.

Awaiting Judgment

Since the beatification of the founder of Saint Joseph's Oratory on May 23, 1982, numerous testimonials of favors and cures have made their way to the offices of Brother André's Cause. All these favours have been studied by the Vice Postulator but few cures have met the criteria for a ''miracle'' as defined by Rome. The allegedly miraculous cure presently under examination by the medical commission in Rome was brought to the attention of Saint Joseph's Oratory during the mandate of Father Robert Choquette, CSC, as vice postulator between 1998 and 2004 .

The Congregation for the Cause of Saints completed its revision of the summary of the cause (Summarium super miro) on March 1^st, 2008, and approved and signed the chronology of the cause (Fattiespecie cronologica) on April 1^st. These two official documents are now in the hands of the medical commission specially mandated to study the allegedly miraculous cure attribuated to blessed Brother André. It should be remembered that if the medical commission's judgment is positive, the miracle will then be examined by the Theological Commission and subsequently by a commission of 15 Archbishops and Cardinals who will in turn give their judgement. The opinions of these three commissions will eventually be presented to the Pope who will make the final decision as to canonization the Servant of God and declaring him a ''Saint''.



Source: The Oratory, Septembre-October 2008, Vol. 82, No. 5, p.6-7