Pope Francis has confirmed seven Blesseds for Sainthood, his action coming at the May 3, 2021, Ordinary Public Consistory for the Canonization of Blesseds in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
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.
At Monday’s Consistory, Pope Francis confirmed the vote of the Cardinals to proceed with the canonization of seven Blesseds. Dates for the canonizations will be announced in the coming weeks.
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 others who were approved to become saints are:
– Blessed César de Bus, priest, founder of the Congregation of the Christian Doctrine Fathers;
– Blessed Luigi Maria Palazzolo, priest, founder of the Institute of the Sisters of the Poor – Palazzolo Institute;
– Blessed Giustino Maria Russolillo, priest, founder of the Society of Divine Vocations and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Vocations;
– Blessed Maria Francesca of Jesus (née Anna Maria Rubatto), founder of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of Loano;
– Blessed Maria Domenica Mantovani, co-founder and first superior general of the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.
