Supernatural Phenomena in Beatification Causes

Abstract

Supernatural phenomena happen to accompany the candidates awaiting their canonisation; the authenticity of these occurrences and their supernatural origin are investigated during the beatification process. The most spectacular phenomena are: stigmata (Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, Veronica Giuliani, Gemma Galgani, Faustyna Kowalska, Pio da Pietrelcina), bilocations and multilocations (Anthony of Padua, Joseph of Copertina, Mariam Baourdy), inedia, vigilance (Angela of Foligno), transverberation (Teresa of Avila, Pio da Pietrelcina), the gift of tears (Pietro Damiani, Ignatius Loyola), the gift of Agilità (Phillip Neri, Peter of Alcantara). Cognitive phenomena include: cardiognosis, telepathy, telesthesis, gift of prophesy, revelations and visions. The Church approaches occurrences of this kind with a great deal of caution. It does not institute a process until the essential conditions following from the canonisation law are not met. All-embracing studies, based on the rules of reasoning, leads to moral certainty of a justice who adjudicates on the practising of Christian virtues in a heroic degree. Since canonisation causes belong to the so called cause maiores, the Church does not rely solely on human intellect in its reasoning, but demands that the seal of God be presented – a miracle accomplished with the intercession of a given God's servant. Those who possess supernatural gifts are beatified not because of those phenomena that they experienced but because they were true bearers of light in history, people of faith, hope and love.