Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Marianists rejoice & the Church Rejoices

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CAUSE OF FAUSTINO

On Wednesday, June 3, Father Antonio Gascón received a telephone call from Msgr. Pellegrino, Secretary of the Promoter of the Faith, requesting 10 copies of the positio of the Servant of God Faustino Pérez-Manglano Magro. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has decided to study the positio of Faustino in view of deciding upon the heroicity of the virtues of the young Marianist student who died in Valencia (Spain) in 1963 at age 17.

The decision to study the positio of Faustino was due to the initiative of Father José María Salaverri, who had proposed to the Cardinal of Madrid that he present the person of Faustino as a model for Christian youth at the World Youth Day celebration in the Spanish capital to be held in August 2011. The same proposal was directed to the Cardinal Archbishop of Valencia, His Eminence Agustín García Gasco, who wrote to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints requesting the study of the positio of Faustino.

The Cause of Faustino was treated in the Archdiocese of Valencia between October 1988 and October 1991. The positio was written by the then Postulator Father Enrique Torres and deposited with the Congregation on 31 October 1994. Since then it has been awaiting its turn to be studied. The moment has finally arrived and at next November’s meeting the theologians will discuss the theological and cardinal virtues of the Servant of God Faustino Pérez-Manglano.

This news fills us with an immense joy because Faustino inspires a multitude of Christian life groups, Marianist lay communities, and pastoral and educational activities throughout the entire Marianist Family.

Let us pray that Faustino might be declared “Venerable” by the Pope.