A Cincinnati nun is one step closer to sainthood.
Vatican theologians unanimously voted to advance the cause for beatification and canonization of Sister Blandina Segale, Servant of God. It’s a significant step forward in the quest for veneration, and eventually sainthood, that has been ongoing for more than a decade, says lead petitioner for the cause Allen Sánchez.
Sánchez, president of a New Mexico nonprofit for vulnerable children and families, said the vote from expert professors around the world indicates Sister Blandina had heroic virtue worthy of veneration.
Sister Blandina was born in a small mountain village in Italy in 1850 before emigrating to Cincinnati with her parents and four siblings when she was 4 years old. She joined the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati at 16 and spent several years teaching at schools in Ohio, but she is best known for her decades of work in the Wild Western frontier.
In 1872, 22-year-old Sister Blandina made her way out alone on the Santa Fe Trail to the then-Colorado Territory. She spent years in the Southwest establishing schools and hospitals before returning to Cincinnati to fight for immigrants, minorities and the poor.
During a June 1 news conference announcing the vote in New Mexico, Archbishop of Santa Fe Rev. John Wester said Sister Blandina had great courage during her time in the West, witnessing hangings and lynch mobs in the frontier.
“She saw the world through the eyes of God. She had the wisdom of the scriptures, the wisdom of the church, the wisdom of faith,” Wester said. “She could see what the Southwest needed, what New Mexico needed, when she was here in the 1890s.”
Dozens of miracles already, including 1 in Cincinnati
Vatican officials have said the journey to sainthood could take a century. Sánchez said that’s because after the lengthy process of establishing that Sister Blandina lived a life worthy of veneration, canonization as a saint requires miracles after her death.
However, since Sánchez began advocating for her canonization in 2014, he said there have already been 54 miracles reportedly connected to prayers to Sister Blandina. Three of those miracles were instantaneous, he said.
While the details of those miracles remain private as the church reviews them, one Cincinnati woman took hers public.
In 2014, Pam Kent, a Xavier University graduate, had a terminal diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis. Kent’s friend, a former principal at Seton High School, suggested she pray to Sister Blandina Segale to intercede in her healing.
The next year got worse. But by Christmas, she told the Sisters of Charity she began to feel better, and by 2017, was released from treatment. Kent is convinced that her prayer to Sister Blandina healed her.
Closer to veneration by the Pope
Now Sister Blandina’s life story goes to bishops at the Vatican, who Sánchez says will vote on whether to move her cause forward by the end of the summer. And then it’s onto Pope Leo XIV.
If the Pope decides to venerate Sister Blandina, the review of her life ends and the focus on miracles since her death begins.
“Cincinnati is going to have a saint in its backyard,” Sánchez said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Vote brings famous Cincinnati nun a step closer to sainthood
Reporting by David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
