Pope Francis has called an Ordinary Public Consistory for a vote on several causes for canonization.
The Consistory will take place on Monday, May 3, 2021, in the Consistory Hall in the Apostolic Palace, where he will preside at the celebration of Terce (Mid-Morning Prayer), with the Consistory following immediately.
Cardinals who are resident in Rome, or present in the City, are invited to take part, in accordance with anti-Covid-19 precautionary measures.
During the Consistory, the Cardinals will consider the causes for canonization of seven Blesseds, including Charles de Foucauld, the French missionary who was killed in Algeria in 1916, and Blessed Lazarus, called Devasahayam, an 18th-century Hindu married man who converted to Catholicism. He is the first layman to be elevated to the rank of Blessed in India.
Charles Eugène de Foucauld was a cavalry officer in the French Army, then an explorer and geographer, and finally, a Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 and is considered by the Church to be a martyr.
Blessed Lazarus was born n into a Hindu family in the 18th century, he converted to Catholicism and is considered a martyr of the Christian faith. Pillai was an official in the court of the King of Travancore, Maharaja Marthanda Varma when he came under the influence of Dutch naval commander, Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, who instructed him in the Catholic faith. He is believed to have been killed by the Travancore state for upholding his Christian faith.
The other Blesseds whose causes are being considered are:
– Blessed César de Bus, priest and founder of the Fathers of Christian Doctrine (Doctrinarians);
– Blessed Luigi Maria Palazzolo, priest, founder of the Sisters of the Poor, also known as the Palazzolo Institute;
– Blessed Giustino Maria Russolillo, priest, founder of the Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationists) in 1919 which encouraged and supported those discerning a call to the priesthood and religious life;
– Blessed Maria Francesca di Gesù, founder of the Order of the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto;
– Blessed Maria Domenica Mantovani, cofounder and first Superior General of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.
