SAINTS ALIVE
Over the years I have had quite a bit of contact with saints, the kind who
yearn from their graves for some kind of immortality.
There was the priest in Minneapolis who was well known for comforting
people, particularly famous people who came to his bedside for prayers. In
fact, his fame was so great that one fellow claims to have devoted his life
to the priest's memory.
Every Sunday afternoon this determined man would go to the nursing home trim his nails, cut his hair, and minister to him.
That's not unusual, except this devoted follower of the priest kept every
snippet of hair and all clippings from the priest's toes and fingers.
He had plastic bags full of nail cuttings and tufts of hair. He kept everything the
priest touched, especially gifts given to the priest by
celebrities and never used - pillows, writing paper, photos, fancy pens and
spectacles.
That may seem a bit ghoulish to you, but the man knew his rules on sainthood..
Every piece of that priest's body would become valuable if he were ever
declared a saint. Every toenail or clump of hair would be considered a primary
relic and could be used to enhance an altar in a monastery, church or
chapel.
Now, of course, after the man has for decades worked on the priest's "cause," the
movement for canonization has slowed. In fact, unless sainthood is supported
by a group of powerful people such as popes and bishops, there is very
little chance that an ordinary candidate for sainthood will ever make the
grade.
So it was a bit of a surprise this week when Padre Pio was named a saint by
Pope John Paul II. Pio was the Italian priest who claimed to have the
stigmata (the bloody wounds of Christ on hands and feet) and displayed
himself in the 1930s and 1940s as a holy man of prayer.
Pio's followers claimed he was able to grant miracles, predict the future,
read people's minds and be in two places at once. In fact, Catholic pilots
during World War II claimed to have seen Padre Pio standing in the clouds in
various European venues directing traffic with his hands covered in
blood-stained bandages. Of course, at those same moments, Pio was allegedly
in his small church conducting worship, or asleep in his cell.
There have always been questions about Pio's authenticity. Some people
believe Pio himself kept the wounds of Christ fresh on his hands and feet.
And many have wondered over the years if the claims of miracles were real, or the
expressions of overly fervent followers.
But none of that matters anymore because back in 1947 Pope John Paul II,
then a young priest, traveled to Southern Italy to see Pio and give the
famous priest his confession. That's all it took to push Pio over the top
and make him a saint.
Many holy people wait hundreds of years for sainthood. But from his death in
1968, it took Pio only thirty-four years to become a saint. I predict it will take
even less time for a pope to canonize Mother Theresa.
Saints are okay. They bring no harm to the world, and therefore I have no
quarrel with the process. But it seems to me the important people are those
who minister in little ways, never asking for credit or praise, and always
wondering how they can make the world better.
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For 6-19-02
