DECREES OF CANONIZATION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 453, 16 December 1881, Page 9

DECREES OF CANONIZATION.

(Special Borne Correspondent of the Pilot.) On the 11th of September the solemn ceremony of the reading and publication of two Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Bites approving of the miracles of the Blessed Lorenzo da Brindisi of the Minor Capuchins and of the Blessed Clare of Montefalco of the E remetical Order of St. Augustine, took place in. presence of Hiß Holiness Leo XIII, in the Vatican Palace. It was also affirmed on that occasion that canonization might be securely proceeded with. In reply to the postulators of these causes the Holy Father delivered the following discourse :— •« Our soul rejoices with great joy for the solemn publication of the two Decrees, at which We have just assisted. " The Canonization of Saints is always a cause of joy for the Catholic Church and for the visible Head who governs it. And for TJa, special motives increase the satisfaction and the gladness of being enabled to number among the Siints the two most glorious onea of Blessed Lorenzo da Brindisi and the Blessed Clare of Montefalco. " The memory of Blessed Lorenzo, towards whom from a youthful age We have cherished sentiments of tender devotion and of special affection, is most opportunely awakened amongst men in these present times. As you have just heard from the readiug of the Decrees, this great Servant of God, under the humble serge of St. Francis, contained within him the choicest endowments of nature and the most eminent gifts of grace ; and his unwearied and marvellous life, all expended for the benefit of hia neighbors, was no other than a splendid glory of the Seraphic Order, to which he belonged, and of the other Religious Orders which deserve so well oE humanity, and which yet in our days are so vilified and persecuted bj impious men. " The Roman Pontiffs did not hesitate to intrust to the energy and wisdom of the Blessed Lorenzo the most difficult and jealous missions ; and he, in the name of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and under the impulses of the most fervent charity, undertook long and wearisome journeys, penetrated into various regions, studied their necessities, and, making himself all things to all men, by word and work spread, wherever he could, the beneficent influences of his Apostolic zeal. With sagacious ability he knew likewise how to introduce himself into the good-will of the rulers, who did not consider it beneath them to become docile to the counsels of that Religious ; they happily hound themselves together by bolv alliances, which, although directed to oppose the enemies of the Faith, served admirably to place upon firm bases the tranquility and security of their kingdoms in concord and peace. Whence it is that, in raising this great Franciscan to the honors of the altars, We are comforted by the hope that, thanks to him, people and princes listening with docility to the voice of the Church may be led back to the right path and escape the dangers which threaten tbem with irreparable ruin. " But no less grateful and joyous to Us is the memory of the, Blessed Clare of Montefalco. It is pleasing to Us to remember that whilst We ruled the Church of Perugia, twice did We visit her sanctuary, twice did We offer the unbloody sacrifice on the altar where her mortal remains repose, and, affected by surprise and by affection, we observed the precious and incorrupt relics of this great Virgin, and, above all, her heart, so famous for the admirable impressions which it received of the passion of the Redeemer. And now that We have been appointed to the direction of the universal Church, Our veneration for this Virgin is redoubled, and Our trust in her is full and entire. " To Us it seems that We may have great confidence in her powerful protection in heaven. It is not the first time that the Blessed God has made use of humble virgins to become the instruments of His inscrutable designs for the benfit of the Church and its visible Head. Ther« was celebrated in Italy, not long since, with all solemnity on occasion of the Centenary feast, the glories of the heroic Virgin Catherine of Siena, who was the divine instrument by which the Roman Pontiffs, after a long absence, returned to their true See of Rome free and independent. In the sad conditions in which We are, and through which the Church is passing, We know not what may be pre-established in the decrees of Providence, nor will we inquire into them. But iv these Blessed, which We are about to rise to the glories of Sanctity, We place hopes not unfounded ; much more as to the Blessed Lorenzo da Brindisi and Clare di Montefalco are united the Blessed Benoit Labre and Giovanni Battista De Rossi, who all represent the various social classes ; and thus it is that the whole of society, which is languishing and infirm, seeks its healing from these Blessed ones by means of the infallible Magisterinm of the Roman Church which glorifies them. " With this sweet and consoling hope, receive, beloved children, the Apostolic Benediction, wMch, from the bottom of Our heart, We impart to you all here present, and which We extend to the Franciscan and Augustinian Orders, and in an especial manner to tbe holy Virgins of the monastery of Montefalco.