PROUD THAT WE HAD SUCH A GREAT SAINT IN OUR MIDST

“To me, there are saints every day. They stand up and help others and live for others and do things for others.” (Theodore Melfi)

Father Dominique Albini had experienced the vocation to become an Oblate in 1823 after hearing the preaching of Eugene. (See https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/albini-charles-dominique/). During his years as an Oblate he was renowned for his holiness which he communicated in his preaching and teaching, especially among the Italian immigrants in Marseilles, missions to the people of Corsica in their volatile existence, in teaching theology to the seminarians among other ministries. Eugene was convinced of the sanctity of this Oblate and started the proceeding for his cause of beatification.

Eugene’s letter to Father Moreau in Ajaccio, Corsica, expresses this project:

I recommend to you a great concern, the introduction of the cause of our blessed Father Albini. If we do not apply ourselves with zeal and follow-up, we will obtain nothing; if we do, success is assured… Speak of this with the Bishop; make him understand just how glorious it would be for his Diocese to have acknowledged the holiness of a man who enjoyed his confidence and did so much good in the Church of Corsica and among its clergy.

Letter to Fr. Francois Moreau in Corsica, 9 October 1845, EO X n 884

A month later, in a letter to Father Semeria, Superior of the Corsica mission:

You have been informed about what I ought to do for the great Servant of God, our good Father Albini. I am distressed that I met with such a feeble echo at Ajaccio in a matter of such great importance and honor for that diocese and for our Congregation.

You know that it is my intention to name you postulator of this precious cause. You will take the matter to heart as becomes a brother and member of the Congregation, proud that we had such a great saint in our midst.

Meanwhile be careful to gather facts of a miraculous nature or approaching the miraculous. Do not let witnesses die without having verified the facts. Two events like the one you told me about the paralytic would be enough to assure his beatification. It is a very beautiful cause, the Avvocato dei Santi whom I consulted in Rome told me.

Letter to Fr. Etienne Semeria in Corsica, 20 November 1845, EO X n 886

Since then, every step of the canonical procedure has been followed – all that remains is a miracle brought about through his intercession.

How many ordinary people have you encountered in your life whose witness and words speak to you of God? You don’t have to have a halo or do out-of-the-ordinary things to be a saint – the mystic, St Theresa of Avila, found God amid the pots and pans in the kitchen. Do you find and love God in the “pots and pans” of your everyday life? That is true sanctity!