"Pope approves canonization of St. Peter Faber, waiving the usual process" (December 17, 2013).
This reminds me a bit of a question my wife once asked one of our deacons back in North Carolina some years ago. He had just blessed some water, making it "holy water," and she asked: "Couldn't you just bless the faucets so that all the water that came out was holy water, so we could cook and even bathe with holy water?!"
Good point.
Anyone acquainted with how the process of canonization has changed since earlier days with the requisite number of miracles and a Devil's Advocate will find the Holy Father's gesture of simply "waving the usual process" interesting, to say the least.
I recall reading with interest Kenneth Woodward's survey of the process in his book, Making Saints back in 1996. There was also a very interesting movie called The Third Miracle, starring Ed Harris as a skeptical priest who is appointed to look into the cause for the canonization of deceased mother of a skeptical daughter played by Anne Heche, which does a remarkably good job of covering the mechanics of the traditional process as well as leading to an unexpected conclusion. (Good for a Hollywood movie; but remember, it's still a Hollywood movie.)
[Hat tip to JM]
3 comments:
I think you may have your "Fr. Faber-s" mixed up. Peter Faber, was the co-founder of the Jesuits. He is being canonized. Frederick William Faber,founder of the Brompton Oratory, wrote the Hymn "Faith of our Fathers."
Wrong Faber. ;).
I believe this is a different Father Faber. The newly canonized saint died in the 16th century and was a companion of St. Ignatius Loyola.
I thought the Fr. Faber associated with Bl. John Henry Newman was a 19th century Jesuit.
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