Pope clears way for canonisation of Canadian nun Mary Leonia Paradis

By Joseph Tulloch

Pope Francis has authorised the promulgation of a Decree recognising a miracle that occurred through the intercession of Blessed Mary Leonia Paradis, the Canadian nun who founded the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.

At the same time, the Pope also authorised Decrees relating to the martyrdom of the Polish priest Michał Rapacz, and the heroic virtues of four other individuals.

A life dedicated to supporting priests

Beatified by John Paul II on 11 September 1984, in Montreal, Marie Leonia Paradis has now been credited with curing a newborn girl of "prolonged perinatal asphyxia with multi-organ failure and encephalopathy" in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in 1986.

The Canadian nun was born on 12 May 1840 in L'Acadie, Canada. At the age of 13, she entered the Congregation of the Marianite Sisters of the Holy Cross, dedicated to domestic service in the homes of the "Priests of the Holy Cross" and to the education of young people.

She lived in various houses in Canada, France, and the US before, in 1880, founding the Congregation of the "Little Sisters of the Holy Family”, with the charism of providing service in religious communities, colleges and seminaries. Her Congregation eventually spread beyond Canada, opening houses in Italy, the US, and Honduras.

Mother Mary Leonia died on 3 May 1912 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, at the age of 72.

Martyrdom in communist Poland

Fr. Michał Rapacz was born on 14 September 1904 in Tenczyn, Poland. He entered the Krakow Seminary in 1926 and was ordained a priest five years later.

After the Second World War, a Communist regime was established in Poland, under the rule of Stalin's Soviet Union, and began harsh repression of Church.

On the night of 11 May 1946, a group of armed men, incensed by Fr. Michał’s pastoral work, entered his rectory in Płoki, kidnapping him and then murdering him in a nearby forest.

Lives of heroic virtue

Pope Francis also authorized four other Decrees, recognising the heroic virtues of four individuals: Bishop Guregh Hovhannes Zohrabian, Br Gianfranco Maria Chiti, Fr Sebastián Gili Vive, and Sr Maddalena of St Therese of the Child Jesus.

Bishop Zohrabian, born into an Armenian family in Turkey in 1881, dedicated his life to serving victims of the Armenian genocide. Imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced to death in Turkey, he was eventually expelled, living first in Greece, then in Syria, and finally in Rome, where he died in 1972.

Br. Gianfranco Maria Chiti, an Italian soldier-turned-friar, was recognised by the Pope for the risks he took to help Jews and anti-fascist partisans during the Second World War.

The Spanish priest Fr. Sebastián Gili Vives, on the other hand, was known for his dedication to the poor, especially children, as well as his support for women’s rights.

Finally, Sr. Maddalena of the Child Jesus, who died at the age of 27, dedicated her brief life to prayer for the unity of Christians.