Pope Francis Brings 6 Closer to Sainthood - Recognizing a Miracle of an Indian Nun and Heroic Virtues of Spain's Sagrada Familia Architect Antoni Gaudi

On 14 April 2025, during the audience granted to His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the same Dicastery to promulgate the Decrees.

Pope Francis has recognized the heroic virtues of now Venerable Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect known throughout the world for having directed the construction of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.  And the three priests Pietro Giuseppe Triest, Angelo Bughetti and Agostino Cozzolino are also venerable, equally for their heroic virtues. The Pontiff, during an April 14th audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, authorized the promulgation of the Decrees that concern them in addition to those concerning the beatification of Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin, founder of the Congregation of the Third Order of Discalced Carmelites, now the Teresian Carmelite Sisters, and of the Italian missionary priest in Brazil Nazareno Lanciotti, martyr.
Venerable Antonio Gaudí, “Architect of God”

His best-known work is the Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia . Antonio Gaudí i Cornet, born on 25 June 1852, probably in Reus, agreed to direct the works the year after the first stone was laid, in 1883, at the age of 31. From then on, he spent his entire life building the place of worship in which he manifested his artistic genius, his religious feeling and his profound spirituality. Only 5 years earlier, he had obtained the title of architect and had written some architectural notes - known as the “Reus Manuscript” - in which he advanced his proposals on ornamentation and religious buildings and showed a notable knowledge and adherence to the mysteries of the Christian faith. The young Gaudí considered the Sagrada Familia a mission entrusted to him by God and with this awareness he transformed the original neo-Gothic project into something different and original, inspired by the forms of nature and full of symbolism that express his deep faith and spirituality, which has Benedictine and Franciscan influences. A devotee of Saint Philip Neri, the original architect faced obstacles and difficulties with courage and trust in God while directing the construction site and also enduring envy and jealousy. From 1887 to 1893 he designed and directed other civil and religious works. Then, during Lent in 1894, he was struck by a serious illness, caused by a rigorous fast that, although it put his life in danger, made him live a profound spiritual experience in his search for God. After overcoming the crisis, he continued to work on various projects, but having gradually lost all his family, he undertook a true spiritual asceticism, refused new assignments and concentrated exclusively on the Sagrada Familia , so much so that in 1925 he adapted a small room next to the church as his residence. A convinced and practicing Christian, assiduous to the sacraments, he made art a hymn of praise to the Lord to whom he offered the fruits of his work, which he considered a mission to make people known and closer to God. On 7 June 1926, he was hit by a tram. Not having been recognized, he was taken to the Hospital de la Santa Creu, the hospital for the poor in the city. Having received the last sacraments, he died three days later, on 10 June. About 30 thousand people took part in the funeral procession.
Fr. Nazareno Lanciotti, martyr in Brazil
Close to beatification, the Roman Nazareno Lanciotti, a diocesan priest, is a martyr of our days. Born on March 3, 1940 and ordained a priest in 1966, after having carried out his ministry in the City for several years, he came to know the Operation Mato Grosso and in 1971 he reached Brazil. He settled in the village of Jauru, on the border with Bolivia, and here he began a fruitful apostolate, carrying out missionary work for thirty years, supported by the Eucharist and devotion to the Virgin. He founded a parish, which he dedicated to Our Lady of the Pillar; he created fifty-seven rural ecclesial communities, where he instituted daily Eucharistic adoration, and a dispensary that later became one of the most active hospitals in the region; he built the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” home for the elderly; he started a school with hundreds of children, to whom he also offered food; he established a minor seminary. In 1987 he joined the Marian Movement of Priests and, appointed national director for Brazil, made frequent trips to organize prayer cenacles. He also dedicated himself to the poorest and committed himself to the fight against various forms of injustice and oppression, such as the plans of prostitution merchants and drug traffickers. His pastoral work was uncomfortable and on the evening of February 11, 2001, while he was finishing dinner with some collaborators, he was seriously injured by two hooded criminals who had entered his home. He died on February 22, at the age of 61.
Mother Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin
She is Indian, from Kerala, Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin, born Eliswa Vakayil, who will soon be Blessed. She was born on October 15, 1831 in Ochanthuruth, into a wealthy family of landowners, very religious. At the age of 16 she was given in marriage to a rich businessman, with whom, in 1851, she had a daughter. Widowed the following year, she chose a life of prayer and solitude, punctuated by frequent participation in the sacraments. She took care of the poor and made a simple hut her home. In 1862 she met the Italian Discalced Carmelite Father Leopoldo Beccaro and, with his spiritual guide, founded the first local congregation in Kerala, the Third Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns. The new religious family, of which her daughter and younger sister were part, added to contemplation an active life in the education and formation of poor and orphaned girls and in assistance to the abandoned and the most needy. Later, other women of the Syro-Malabar rite joined the community, then when Leo XIII decided to erect the first Syro-Malabar vicariates, two independent female religious institutes were born: the Congregation of the Teresian Carmelites (CTC) of the Latin rite and the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC) of the Syro-Malabar rite. In these circumstances, Mother Eliswa established a new convent with her fellow nuns of the Latin rite in Varapuzha. Here she spent the last 23 years of her life. She died on 18 July 1913. In 2005, the miraculous healing of a baby girl with cleft lip (harelip) in the fetal stage was attributed to her intercession. The little girl's mother prayed to Eliswa, on the advice of a nun of the Carmelite Sisters who suggested that other relatives also make supplications. Born by cesarean section, the baby girl was perfectly healthy.
Fr. Pietro Giuseppe Trieste
Founder of the Congregations of the Brothers of Charity, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary and the Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus, Peter Joseph Triest, now venerable, was born in Brussels, Belgium, on 31 August 1760. Ordained a priest on 9 June 1786, during the so-called Belgian Revolution against the religious provisions of Joseph II of Habsburg-Lorraine and the French Revolution, he was forced to live in hiding to avoid taking the oath on the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Following Napoleonic tolerance, he began a fruitful ministerial work as a parish priest in Ronse, and dedicated himself, in particular, to orphans, the sick and the poor. He founded an orphanage to care for poor and abandoned children, helped by some women and with them, in 1804, he began the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. In 1807, the state authorities entrusted him with the management of the civil hospital in Bijloke and, subsequently, with the supervision of the financial administration of the various charitable institutions in the city. He was also appointed a member of the Commission of Civil Hospitals and of the Committee for Assistance to the Poor, while in Ghent he was entrusted with the coordination and administrative management of hospices for the elderly and of institutions for the care and education of orphaned and lonely children. He then founded the congregations of the Brothers of Charity for abandoned children and the poor and of the Brothers of St. John of God for the care of the sick at home and supported the priest Benedict De Decker, later his successor in the managerial and welfare work he had begun, in the establishment of the Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus. Having fallen seriously ill, he spent the last days of his life in prayer; assisted by the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, he died on June 24, 1836. At the center of his spirituality was the cult of the humanity of Christ, which pushed him to love his brothers, especially those most in need. He was inspired by Saint Vincent de Paul and had at heart the sick, the disabled, and the deaf. His way of serving others was considered prophetic and innovative, since he placed the human person with his dignity at the center of attention.
Fr. Angelo Bughetti

Angelo Bughetti was also a diocesan priest and from today he is venerable. He was born in Imola on August 27, 1877, in a family of humble conditions and deep Christian faith. He was ordained a priest on March 31, 1900 and after a few years dedicated to teaching he devoted himself to preaching and various charitable activities, with the aim of forming the Christian and civil conscience of young people, as well as writing articles for various periodicals. It was an anticlerical, socialist and Freemason climate, the one in which he dedicated himself to children and young people, intuiting their hardships and making their potential fruitful. Appointed chaplain of the Coorte avanguardisti of Imola and then of the Opera Nazionale Balilla, he opposed liberal, socialist and fascist ideologies, but always with objectivity, delicate prudence and never against people, maintaining those relationships necessary to be able to continue his work of educating youth. He died on April 5, 1935, at the age of 57. Courageous in knowing how to find adequate solutions to complex situations, in his works of charity and in prayer he knew how to involve the parishioners, helping everyone to grow in holiness. He was called the "priest of Providence" because he always relied on the help of God.
Fr. Agostino Cozzolino
Also venerable is Don Agostino Cozzolino, from Campania, who was born on October 16, 1928 in Resina (now Ercolano), into a poor and religious family. He chose the priesthood and was ordained on July 27, 1952. He then dedicated himself to the formative activity and catechesis of young people and adults in the parishes and was later appointed vice-rector of the Major Seminary of Naples, where, with his example and words, he formed many young people. On September 30, 1960, he was transferred to the Basilica Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Neve, in the Ponticelli district of Naples, where he remained as parish priest until his death. He worked to create a lively pastoral community, capable of announcing the Gospel; he increased devotion to the Madonna della Neve; he spread the “Fraternal Christian Aid” Movement; he devoted himself with love to the poor and to the material and spiritual needs of all. In the densely populated neighborhood, where a heterogeneous and problematic social context of degradation and poverty emerges, Don Agostino becomes an important presence and works tirelessly for the good of the people. With a welcoming spirit, he begins to apply the new pastoral directives of the Second Vatican Council and also promotes family spirituality groups, takes care of relationships with other priests and organizes periodic meetings to ensure moments of sharing and exchange of experiences. In 1987, he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and lives the disease as a further opportunity for apostolate: he faces it with dignity and great faith, he dedicates himself more and more to contemplation, but remains close to his people. He dies on November 2, 1988. In the apostolate he is distinguished by an extraordinary love for people. His was a generous life, totally dedicated to others.
Source: Vatican News Italian and 

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