Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Saint Chesterton???...

Dale Ahlquist, head of the American Chesterton Society, makes the announcement about the beginnings of the process of the cause for sainthood of G.K. Chesterton.

The money quote:

Martin [Thompson, head of the UK Chesterton Society] explained that this interest in Chesterton’s sainthood is not going to go away. He told [Rt. Rev. Peter Doyle, the new bishop of Northampton - Chesterton's hometown] about the many letters that I receive from people here in America wanting to know the status of the cause. He told him about the letters that he receives in England. “Including this one,” he said, handing the bishop a letter. It was from Ambassador Miguel Angel Espeche Gil, who is the chairman of the Argentine Chesterton Society. The ambassador also wanted to know what could be done to move the cause forward. He described the great devotion to Chesterton in Argentina, that there, too, Chesterton is a maker of converts. He closed by saying that the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires had approved a prayer (for private devotional use) asking for Chesterton’s intercession. The letter was dated March 10, 2013. Three days later, that Cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio, became Pope Francis. [emphasis mine]

Then, on August 1, Dale Ahlquist made this announcement at the nation Chesterton Conference in Massachusetts:

Martin Thompson had met with Bishop Peter Doyle and said that the bishop “has given me permission to report that the Bishop of Northampton is sympathetic to our wishes and is seeking a suitable cleric to begin an investigation into the potential for opening a cause for Chesterton.”

For those interested in the prayer for private devotion authorized by Cardinal Bergoglio (now Pope Francis I), the link is here.