Bishop Richard Smith of our diocese of Pembroke, has established both a tribunal and a historical commission to begin the next phase of research into Catherine’s life and writings.

On July 25th–26th, the five people he has appointed for this work all came together for the first time to meet with the bishop, one another, and Madonna House, to see our archives and to make plans for their future research into Catherine’s life.

Who are these people?

Fr. Alexandre Taché, O.M.I., a retired canon law professor at St. Paul’s in Ottawa, is the bishop’s delegate. As the title implies, he is the one who will guide Catherine’s cause in the name of the bishop.

The second member of the tribunal, the promoter of justice, is Fr. Pat Cogan of the Society of the Atonement. His task will be to see that everything is done according to canon law.

Fr. Terence Fay, S.J., a professor of Church history at the University of Toronto, is a member of the historical commission. He has written a book, The Catholic Church in Canada, in which he mentions Catherine. Thus he is already aware of Catherine’s apostolate in Toronto and Ottawa in the 1930’s.

Dr. Elizabeth Smyth is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto. Her specialty is social history, and she is especially interested in the influence of the milieu on a person’s life and character. Thus, she is eager to be involved in the study of the life of Catherine, a Russian immigrant, who served the poor in urban and rural North America.

Dr. Vicki Bennett is the Director of Publication Services for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ottawa. She is an archeologist and is especially interested in the cultural aspects of Catherine’s life and apostolate.

All of these are very busy people, and our Madonna House family is grateful to them for accepting the bishop’s appointment.

The group was given a tour of Madonna House and of our archives where they will be doing their research. They met our archivists—Bonnie Staib, Mary Catherine Rowland, and Marian Moody, as well as with Kathleen Janet Thompson, the vice-postulator of the cause, and Réjeanne George, an elder of the community.

At the second meeting, they met with the bishop and with our directors general—Fr. David May, Susanne Stubbs, and Mark Schlingerman.

Fr. Alex outlined the duties of the commission and concluded by saying, "In due time, the members of the Commission are to be called before the bishop or his delegate as ex-officio witnesses and confirm under oath that they fulfilled their duty properly and that they neither changed nor destroyed any document or text."

Since one of the purposes of these two days was for people to get to know one another, much of this meeting was spent doing just that. Please God, we will be working with one another for a number of years, so this was an opportunity to exchange views and ask questions of one another.

"What a truly awesome thing a canonization is for the life of the Church," said Bishop Smith at the end of the meeting. "When someone is canonized, it affects the life of the Church for all time."

The evening Mass on Tuesday was the first public, liturgical recognition of what was transpiring in Catherine’s cause. In his homily, Bishop Smith talked about one aspect of what it is to be a saint. A saint is someone whose desire is "properly focused." A saint lives from that desire for God, for that desire, and in conformity with that desire.

At the end of the Mass, Bishop Richard thanked the members of the commission and the tribunal, saying: "The work before them is daunting, to say the least, so we assure them of our prayers!"

In this article, I, Fr. Bob, wish to thank publicly the theological censors whose work precedes the research of the tribunal and historical commission.

They are Fr. Michael Prieur, professor of moral theology at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario, Most Reverend Noel Delaquis, retired bishop of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, and Fr. Don Guglielmi, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Among them, they read all of Catherine’s published writings for the purpose of discovering any serious theological difficulties. They found none.

After supper we gave all members of the commission a tour of the postulator’s office and of MH Publications, showing them the work that had been done in these places in connection with the cause. We also gave each of them a copy of Catherine’s diaries.

On Wednesday there were several meetings. At one of them, the three members of the historical commission elected Fr. Terence president of the commission for one year.

All the members do not have to read everything. So, at one meeting, they divided among themselves, according to their personal interests, the material they need to examine.

Elizabeth chose to concentrate on the canonical aspects, Vicki on the customs and cultural dimensions of Catherine’s apostolate, and Fr. Terence on the correspondence.

At a wrap-up session in the afternoon, Fr. Terence said that he was interested in hearing reflections about Catherine from the community members present. When he returns in November, he may wish to interview some of us. He also asked me, as postulator, some questions about the history of the cause.

I began by mentioning some of the questions I am frequently asked. "Why is Madonna House pushing Catherine’s cause?" "Can’t the money be spent for the poor?" "We know she’s a saint. Why this complicated process?" And so on.

Then I emphasized that Catherine belongs not merely to Madonna House but to the whole Church, and that in advancing her cause for canonization, we are simply trying to discern the Lord’s will for her in the future life of the Church.

We of Madonna House believe, of course, that Catherine is a saint. More than others in the Church, we know the treasures contained in her writings, and this is why we want to share them with the whole Church.

When someone is canonized, the graces of his or her life and teachings are multiplied and are given a permanent effectiveness.

Since one important purpose of the visit of the commission was to meet the community, I encouraged them to sit at different tables at meal times. I think that, in their brief visit here, they did meet the community.

I am frequently asked: are there any miracles yet? I wanted our new friends to meet the community because I consider the fact that we are still here, trying clippety-clop to live out Catherine’s great legacy, is the greatest miracle!