Cause proposed for California-based Basque Claretian missionary priest

Claretian priest buried at the San Gabriel Mission is subject of recent petition for sainthood

By Brenda Gazzar,

SAN GABRIEL – Three decades after his death, a steady stream of visitors from around the country still pay homage to the San Gabriel Mission grave site of Father Aloysius Ellacuria. [A necessary component examined in a cause is an enduring veneration over many years and the person’s fama sanctitatis.]

Now, the Basque Claretian Missionary priest, who had a reputation as a miracle worker and ministered for many years within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is on a path many of his devotees hope will lead to sainthood.

Father Aloysius is the subject of a rare petition submitted last month to Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez to open a cause of beatification and canonization, the first step in a process that could culminate in the Catholic Church recognizing him as a saint.

“Aloysius is a special case,” said the Rev. Kevin Manion, a priest of the Archdiocese of Guadalajara, Mexico, who submitted the petition and worked with Father Aloysius as his secretary for eight years before his April 1981 death.

“He’s like (from) the High Middle Ages as a miracle worker as (one that has) spiritual insight, his ability to address people where they are at. He was completely present to people.”

In 1976, Father Aloysius told Manion to keep sealed for 20 years recordings and documents he gave him regarding his life. [Which shows some prudence and humility about his own person.]

Today, in an effort to support the case for beatification, Manion and others are archiving many of those materials and collecting testimonies from his devotees, who speak of miraculous healings, his ability to “read souls” and to cast out demons.

The legal process within the church, much of which is secret, will seek evidence demonstrating whether Father Aloysius should be beatified, the last formal step before potentially being canonized or officially recognized as a saint for exercising virtue to a “heroic degree,” Manion said.

[…]

Share/Bookmark