Father Richard Kunst: What is awaiting Msgr. Buh in coming years

Apologetics 

Almost 16 years ago, back in September 2008, I wrote a column in The Northern Cross on the canonization process and how an individual becomes a saint. 

Though I have not re-read that column, and I am not going to re-write it, I am going to write about the subject again for obvious reasons. The whole idea of canonization should feel closer to home for us as a diocese, and it certainly seems more real to me personally, since we are in the beginning stages of discerning a “cause” for one of our very own in Msgr. Joseph Buh. 

It is important to note that the pope does not make saints. God does, and the saints themselves do. If someone is declared a saint, the church is simply making a statement that we can be certain that this person, by how they lived their life and their faith, is now with God in heaven. So the canonization process is not about “making” saints, it is about discerning, through a rigorous investigation, that this person was indeed a person of heroic virtue. 

Because of this fact, the church is abundantly cautious not to allow emotions influence the process, which is exactly why there is a rule that a process for canonization cannot even start for five years after the death of the potential candidate. In recent years this rule has been dispensed with twice, once for Mother Teresa and the other time for Pope John Paul II. 

To be clear, as of my writing this, the cause for Msgr. Buh has not even started. We are in the process of discernment as a diocese if this is of the Holy Spirit. If, after a period of time, it appears there is reason to begin, then the bishop will petition the Holy See for permission. If there is no objection, then the “nihil obstat” (nothing stands in the way) is granted. At that point, the individual whose cause is being considered automatically gets the title “Servant of God.” 

After this, the diocese or the religious order promoting the cause starts what is called the Information Process, which is a thorough investigation of the life, as well as all the writing, of the would-be saint. The writings of the person (even personal correspondence) are of great importance, because it must be determined that the person was orthodox in their theology, not holding any heretical beliefs. This part of the “cause” can take years and often includes interviews with people who personally knew the saint candidate. 

Of course, given that Msgr. Buh died in 1922, there are no witnesses around that would have known him personally, but there are many people around who knew people who knew Buh. In my own parish there is a person whose grandparents were married by Buh and whose uncles were baptized by him. So interviews may still happen. 

Once the final investigation has been completed, the findings (known as the Acta) are sent to Rome, where it is assigned a “relator,” which is a person who oversees the internal process making sure that the “cause” is properly handled. The relator will present the case to a theological commission made up of members of the Congregation of Saints, who will vote to accept it or reject it. If they give the case a green light, it is then referred to the pope, and if the pope accepts it as a potential case, the individual is automatically given the title “Venerable.” 

The remaining step before beatification is awaiting a miracle attributed through the intercession of the individual. This cannot be a miracle that happened during the candidate’s lifetime. It must be from after their death as a clear sign of heavenly intercession. 

Almost always the miracle is going to be of a medical nature in which there is clear evidence that it was through the intercession of this person that the miracle happened. There must be a clear association. It is a panel of unbiased medical doctors and experts that will determine if there is indeed no natural explanation for the healing. The church takes this sort of thing seriously, because canonization is basically an infallible declaration that this person is in heaven, so the evidence must be beyond doubt. 

Once the proposed miracle is “certified,” then the date is set for beatification. (As an aside, a person who was a martyr for the faith can be beatified without a miracle.) For the final step of canonization, there has to be a second authenticated miracle. 

The full process is much more complicated and involved than how I am explaining it here, but suffice it to say this description gives some idea as to what things may look like in the coming years when it comes to the potential cause of Msgr. Buh. 

My encouragement to readers is to pray to Msgr. Buh for his intercession. If you do not have one of the Buh prayer cards, talk to your priest, because he should have them, and if he does not, he will know how to get one. Learn about Msgr. Buh by going to JosephBuh.org and reading his abbreviated biography that was produced by the diocese. I assure you that the more you learn about him, the more clear it will be why he is being considered for possible canonization. 

Msgr. Joseph Buh, pray for us! 

Father Richard Kunst is pastor of St. James and St. Elizabeth in Duluth. Reach him at [email protected].