On Sunday, November 24, Rev. Richard V. Warner, C.S.C., Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, sent a letter to Holy Cross religious throughout the world updating them on Blessed Basile Moreau's cause for canonization. His update addressed the investigation of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints into a healing attributed to the intercession of Moreau.
"A member of the North East Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross in Agartala, India, survived a very serious illness after members of the community and others prayed for his healing through the intercession of Father Moreau," wrote Fr. Warner. "The pertinent documentation was gathered, and the first step in the canonization process began. An Archdiocesan Tribunal was established in Shillong, India, which worked carefully over the course of several months.
"Dr. Ambrosi, the postulator for Father Moreau’s cause, studied the work of the Archdiocesan Tribunal. The conclusion of the different commissions, including the Archdiocesan Tribunal’s medical commission, determined that there was a possibility that a miracle had occurred."
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The reports of the Archdiocesan Tribunal were then translated into Italian and presented to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints in Rome for further study. A Medical Commission, consisting of two doctors, was then assigned to the case.
In their initial findings, one doctor wrote that in his opinion, no miracle had occurred. The second doctor was uncertain and drew up a list of medical questions for the doctor in Agartala who had tended to the patient.
“A member of the General Administration traveled to Agartala and met with this doctor,” wrote Fr. Warner. “A report was prepared which responded to the questions raised. The Agartala Doctor explained that the emergency treatment was administered under challenging circumstances. There was no on-site laboratory and the medical facility was not fully equipped for the treatment required. He further stated that while he was a believer, he was not a Christian, but in his opinion there was intervention by a higher power."
After studying this follow-up report, the second doctor of the Medical Commission concluded that his questions were not answered to the degree that would allow him to state that a miracle had, in fact, taken place.
“Later, both doctors from the Medical Commission of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints determined that the evidence was insufficient and thus the case could not be presented to the full commission of the Vatican Congregation. An official from the Congregation from the Causes of Saints then informed the Postulator that the cure was not considered to be a miracle,” reported Fr. Warner.
In relaying this decision to Holy Cross priests, brothers, and sisters, Fr. Warner wrote: “The cause for the canonization of our Founder is not closed. When a potential miracle occurs, it will be presented to the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints for their study.
“In many of our houses and ministries, prayers are offered daily for the canonization of our holy founder, Blessed Basile Moreau. I know that this will continue to be the case until, on God’s schedule and not ours, a miracle will be accepted and the canonization will take place at some time in the future. Perhaps this will happen at a moment when the Universal Church needs the example and the extraordinary gifts Father Moreau offered to the Church in many lands through education, pastoral ministry and in many other ways.”