Blessed Dun Gorg Preca has reached the final stages of the process leading to sainthood as Pope Benedict XVI yesterday approved a decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which was passed on Wednesday 10 January, regarding the second miracle attributed to the Maltese priest.
The decree had approved the second miracle attributed to the humble priest who founded the Society for Christian Doctrine in Malta 100 years ago.
Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona O.P., yesterday gave the news to a packed hall at the Society for Christian Doctrine at Blata l-Bajda, when he addressed the two sections of the society founded by Dun Gorg in 1907.
The Pope has also appointed a consistory, a meeting of the cardinals present at that moment in Rome, on Friday 23 February, in order to seek their advice on whether Dun Gorg and four other blesseds should be proclaimed saints. If the cardinals are in favour of Dun Gorg’s elevation to sainthood a date will be set for his canonisation.
The first miracle attributed to Dun Gorg, which led to his beatification, was the miraculous healing of Charles Zammit Endrich on 3 February 1964. The second miracle, which centres around the healing of a baby with the intercession of Dun Gorg Preca, goes back to July 2001, two months after he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on his second pastoral visit to Malta.
According to the Curia, the baby developed liver complications and was treated by local paediatricians at St Luke’s Hospital. The baby’s condition worsened and she was taken for specialised treatment at King’s College Hospital in London.
On 14 July, the doctors said the baby needed a liver transplant, its only hope of survival; however, the donor liver was not compatible. During this very difficult period, the family prayed to the Blessed Dun Gorg Preca to intercede on the baby’s behalf and the baby was touched with a glove used to exhume Dun Gorg’s body.
On 20 July, the baby’s condition improved and the liver started to function properly. Four days later, the doctors decided the baby no longer needed a transplant. Today, the child is a healthy five-year-old and attends school regularly.
In July 2004, the Maltese ecclesiastical authorities began studying the case to decide whether it should be passed on to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in Rome.
On 17 December 2004, the Congregation decided that the process begun in Malta was valid and on 23 February last year, medical experts gave their favourable opinion on the case. On 30 October 2006, the Congregation’s theologians gave a favourable opinion and this led to the approval by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Wednesday 10 January 2007 and yesterday’s endorsement by Pope Benedict XVI.