American Saints

Many an American has died in heroic circumstances, but until lately it has not appeared that any North American has performed saintworthy miracles.* (No one who has not performed at least two miracles, and in addition died an heroic death, is canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.) In Vatican City last week, however, the Congregation of Sacred Rites passed by a comfortable majority the credentials of eight New York and Canadian martyrs (six Jesuits, two laymen), and the Holy Office prepared to canonize them as saints. The group was credited with two miracles, and each with an heroic death.

In his Jesuit Martyrs of North America meticulous Father John J. Wynne, S.J., describes with careful detail how the martyrs were tortured in the New York and Canadian woods by Indians who tore out their nails, hair and beards, chewed their fingers, and as one martyr said "even went so far--a savage act--as in cold blood [to] wound us with their nails, which are extremely sharp, in the most tender and sensitive parts of the body." Eventually all eight were despatched by the Indians, several with tomahawks. There is no question of the heroic circumstances of their deaths. But many an American has been tomahawked. What miracles did the eight perform?

Father Wynne, who prepared and presented the credentials of the martyrs for canonization, is reticent on this point in his book, but last week the Vatican supplied a clear description. The miracles were performed in virtue of the martyrs collectively less than four years ago. They took the form of cures. The first miracle was that Sister Marie-Maxima of a religious House of St. Hyacinth in Quebec recovered "perfectly and instantaneously" on Dec. 30, 1927, from a prolonged attack of tubercular peritonitis. Second miracle was that Sister Savoie of the diocese of Chatham (Canada) had on July 9, 1926, a cure, also perfecta et instantanea, of prolonged tubercular peritonitis.

* South American Saints include: St. Rose of Lima, Peru, first all American saint. Patroness of South America (1586-1617); St. Francis Solano. also of Lima ("The Wonder Worker of the New World"); St. Peter Claver (baptized 300,000 South American Negroes); St. Toribio (Archbishop of Lima).

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