Azores Church
The diocesan process for the beatification of Maria Vieira was delivered to the Vatican
The cause for the beatification of the young Azorean Maria Vieira has entered the Roman phase, and the process is already in Rome and could be completed in three or four years, announced the Diocese of Angra.
In November 2024, the Diocese of Angra revealed that it had concluded the diocesan phase of its first process with a view to the beatification of an Azorean woman, Maria Vieira da Silvaa young woman from Terceira who died on June 5, 1940 at the resist an attempted rape.
“O gesture of forgiveness to the aggressorspoken before his death, had a profound impact on the local community and generated a spontaneous devotion that has lasted for more than eight decades”, according to information available on the agency’s website, from the Diocese of Angra.
One year after the conclusion of the diocesan phase, held in the Diocese of Angra, the cause for beatification of the young woman, born in the parish of São Sebastião, on Terceira Island, ” officially enters the Roman phase”.
“The process is already in Rome, handed over to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Now only formal confirmation is awaited of the appointment of monsignor António Manuel Saldanha as a postulator of the cause in its Roman phase”, reveals the Diocese of Angra.
Quoted in the same note, the priest, born in the Azores, explained that the process was “duly delivered” and all that remains is the ratification of the appointment made by the bishop, author of the cause, so that he can be officially recognized as a postulator.
“I’m going to Rome this week to present the nomination documentation and we will wait for confirmation, which already given informally by the Dicastery”, said Monsignor António Manuel Saldanha, highlighting that it is a mission that fills him with “pride and responsibility”.
“I feel privileged and serenely happy. It was an old dream, but one that I never manifested. Through a series of happy coincidences, I was able to return to the diocese and take up this cause, which means so much to all Azoreans”, he stated.
With the process already in the hands of the Dicastery, the request for a vote of legal validity follows, a step that will confirm the regularity and consistency of the work carried out in the diocese of Angra.
“If the vote is positive, and I believe it will be, a rapporteur will be appointedwhich will guide the writing of Positio, a summary document that brings together all the testimonies and texts about Maria Vieira”, he said.
Afterwards, the process will be analyzed by theologians, historiansbishops and cardinals before the Pope’s final decision. As this is a case of martyrdom, the miracle is not required for beatification, which could speed up the process, he explained.
According to the postulator, the process could be completed in three or four yearshighlighting that the documentation “is concise and clear”, highlighting that the most striking element in Maria Vieira’s life “is the ability to forgive”.
“Maria Vieira’s story is also a call for the dignity of women and overcoming violence”, showing “that it is possible to respond to hate with love and to evil with forgiveness”, he adds.
The closure of the diocesan phase, celebrated a year ago in the Church of São Sebastião, constituted a historic landmark for the Diocese of Angraas it is the first cause of beatification fully instructed in the Azores.
On the occasion, the bishop of Angra, Armando Esteves Domingueshighlighted that “the relevance of this cause lies in offering an evangelical logic: where there should be hatred there is love; where there should be revenge there is mercy”.
The process served three episcopatesbut only in February 2018, D. João Lavrador gave instructions to move forward with the appointment of the Historical and Theological Commissions, which allowed us to now reach this stage.
“With the process delivered in Rome, the diocese and the Azorean faithful are now experiencing a time of expectation and prayer“, but no note.
