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| Vatican imposes new financial rules for saint-making process | Vatican imposes new financial rules for saint-making process |
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| Pope Francis has overhauled the Vatican’s multimillion-euro saint-making business, months after two exposés revealed that the cost of beatification – a major step towards becoming a saint – has reached about €500,000 (£400,000). | |
| New regulations, announced on Thursday, aim to put more checks and budgeting rules into a process that has long been cloaked in mystery. They include the assignment of administrators, who will have oversight of each case, and the creation of a solidarity fund that will help finance cases for lesser-known candidates for sainthood. | New regulations, announced on Thursday, aim to put more checks and budgeting rules into a process that has long been cloaked in mystery. They include the assignment of administrators, who will have oversight of each case, and the creation of a solidarity fund that will help finance cases for lesser-known candidates for sainthood. |
| The Vatican said it was particularly focused on the “Roman phase” of the process, which follows the initial evidence collection and the preparation of a paper that can be “thousands of pages long and contain painstakingly assembled intimate details of the proposed saint’s earthly life and career”. This process, the Vatican said, had proved to be “extremely costly and time-consuming”. | The Vatican said it was particularly focused on the “Roman phase” of the process, which follows the initial evidence collection and the preparation of a paper that can be “thousands of pages long and contain painstakingly assembled intimate details of the proposed saint’s earthly life and career”. This process, the Vatican said, had proved to be “extremely costly and time-consuming”. |
| The pope launched a commission in 2013 to investigate the church’s financial management. The inquiry revealed serious problems within the Vatican bureaucracy charged with investigating candidates for sainthood, known as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. | The pope launched a commission in 2013 to investigate the church’s financial management. The inquiry revealed serious problems within the Vatican bureaucracy charged with investigating candidates for sainthood, known as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. |
| Although it was not known at the time of the commission’s investigation, two books published late last year – Avarice by Emanuele Fittipaldi and Merchants in the Temple by Gianluigi Nuzzi – subsequently revealed that efforts by the commission to audit tens of millions of euros spent by the sainthood body came up short after officials said they had no documentation to support their activities. | Although it was not known at the time of the commission’s investigation, two books published late last year – Avarice by Emanuele Fittipaldi and Merchants in the Temple by Gianluigi Nuzzi – subsequently revealed that efforts by the commission to audit tens of millions of euros spent by the sainthood body came up short after officials said they had no documentation to support their activities. |
| Usually, the naming of a saint is a lengthy and arduous process because it involves thorough analysis of a candidate’s credentials and any claims that the person was involved in a miracle, which is a prerequisite for beatification. A whole cast of doctors, theologians and religious officials have to agree that the miracle was not the result of any other earthly intervention. Two miracles are required for canonisation. | Usually, the naming of a saint is a lengthy and arduous process because it involves thorough analysis of a candidate’s credentials and any claims that the person was involved in a miracle, which is a prerequisite for beatification. A whole cast of doctors, theologians and religious officials have to agree that the miracle was not the result of any other earthly intervention. Two miracles are required for canonisation. |
| The books by Fittipaldi and Nuzzi – who face a Vatican trial for publishing confidential information that was allegedly leaked to them – revealed, however, that the process of making a saint had also become an expensive enterprise, with outside contributors spending hundreds of thousands of euros to speed up the process. | The books by Fittipaldi and Nuzzi – who face a Vatican trial for publishing confidential information that was allegedly leaked to them – revealed, however, that the process of making a saint had also become an expensive enterprise, with outside contributors spending hundreds of thousands of euros to speed up the process. |
| On top of those expenses, the price of sainthood also includes thank-you gifts, which Nuzzi alleges are required for the prelates who are invited to festivities and celebrations held at crucial moments in the process. | On top of those expenses, the price of sainthood also includes thank-you gifts, which Nuzzi alleges are required for the prelates who are invited to festivities and celebrations held at crucial moments in the process. |
| In the coming days, the pope is expected to name the canonisation date of Mother Theresa, which will probably be in the first week of September. | In the coming days, the pope is expected to name the canonisation date of Mother Theresa, which will probably be in the first week of September. |