February, 19th 2020: The Roman Phase of the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Raymond Francis Camillus Mascarenhas was opened on 19 February 2020 at 9.30 am at the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Vatican. The Servant of God was the former Vicar General of the Diocese of Mangalore and the Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Little Flower of Bethany.
The official ceremony of opening of the Acts of the Diocesan Inquiry into the life, virtues, and reputation of sanctity of the Servant of God, introduced in the Diocese of Mangalore was indeed a beautiful and grace-filled moment because it has a great meaning. A small band of representatives, consisting of Monsignor Karel Kasteel, well-wisher of Bethany Congregation, Rev Fr Vincent Sequeira and Rev Fr Rajesh Rosario, doctoral students in Rome representing the Diocese of Mangalore, Sr Jossy Maria BS, Councillor, Delegation Abroad, Sr Maggie Crasta BS, Superior, Bethania, Collegio Ethiopico Vatican, Sr Smitha BS, Administrator of the Funds of the Cause, and Sr Dona Sanctis BS, The Postulator of the Cause at the Roman Phase, were fortunate to attend this ceremony.
The Chancellor of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Monsignor Giacomo Pappalardo began the process by inviting those present to pray an Our Father and a Hail Mary, thus invoking God’s blessings on us and on the Cause. He opened the envelope that accompanied the boxes, which contained the letters from the Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, and the letters from the Diocesan Tribunal from Mangalore. He then opened the box which contained the Public Copy by cutting the white ribbon that closed the procedural documents. Monsignor Pappalardo was glad about the beautiful and systematic manner of presenting the documents.
The documents will then be checked for their completeness, resulting in a Decree of Validity. This stage of the process is the “second phase”, when the Church investigates the life of holiness of the Servant of God. Let us pray that everything may go well at this phase to declare the Servant of God Raymond F C Mascarenhas as Venerable, Blessed, and then Saint of the Church.
Sr M Dona Sanctis BS
Rome, Italy.
