Canonization process for another possible Pinoy saint to begin in January

The canonization process for a Filipino bishop who co-founded a religious congregation for women in the early 1900s will begin in January next year, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said. In a news article posted on its website, the CBCP said the Cause of Canonization of Bishop Alfredo Florentin Verzosa will kick off in Vigan on January 11, 2013.

 

"The first Ilocano bishop, Bishop Versoza will become Servant of God on January 11 next year as the Cause of his Beatification and Canonization formally opens during a 10:00 a.m. Mass at Vigan’s St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral, where his remains are kept," the CBCP said.

 

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles will join Nueva Segovia Archbishop Ernesto Salgado during the Mass that will open the diocesan process, the CBCP said.

 

Versoza became the first Filipino bishop and the second Ordinary of the Diocese of Lipa from 1916 until his retirement in 1950.

 

He co-founded with Madre Laura Lattore Mendoza the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart, a religious congregation for women.

 

Verzosa witnessed some of the miracles of the Roses  during the Lipa apparition in 1948, along with his auxiliary bishop Alfredo Obviar, whose canonization process began in 2001.

 

Verzosa's life was chronicled in the 2007 book “Alfredo Versoza, Obispo: The Life and Legacy of the Fourth Filipino Roman Catholic Bishop” by Fr. Ericson Josue, a priest from the diocese of Laoag and a professor of Theology at the Vigan Seminary.

 

Arguelles, in a circular sent to the clergy and faithful of Lipa, encouraged all Batangueños “to make the same pilgrimage to the tomb of our former bishop and show our support for the eventual raising of a worthy shepherd in the altar.” - VVP, GMA News