The first stage of the beatification process of little Anne-Gabrielle Caron, initiated in 2020 in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, concludes this Saturday. The file can now be sent to the Vatican. The girl, originally from Toulon, died in 2010 from fulminant cancer at the age of 8.
Diocesan Investigation Completed
The solemn closing session will be held this Saturday at 6:00 PM at the Church of Saint Francis of Paola in Toulon, the parish of Anne-Gabrielle and her family, who requested the opening of the process in 2020. The investigation gathered “about fifty testimonies,” according to Pascal Barthélemy, the postulator in charge of evaluating the devotion that arose around the girl. “These witnesses, Catholic or not, knew Anne-Gabrielle and can attest to how she practiced the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Other people declare having received graces through her intercession… could it even be a miracle? That information is confidential. I can only say that if we considered that a case of grace could be a miracle, we would have opened a public procedure for its recognition,” Barthélemy explained.
Testimonies from Various Places
After the little girl’s death, her relatives and the parish priest of Saint Francis of Paola received numerous testimonies from France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Even today, messages arrive through the website created for the process and to the family. Marie-Dauphine Caron, her mother, told France Bleu Provence: “Last Saturday, at a Christmas market, a lady asked me if I was Anne-Gabrielle’s mom. She told me she worked at a school where a class had taken her as their protector. In that class, a woman who had been married for twelve years could not have children. Nine months after praying the Novena of Anne-Gabrielle, a baby was born.”
Sensitive to Others’ Suffering from a Young Age
Marie-Dauphine Caron describes her daughter as “a girl like any other. She liked to dress up and draw, but from the age of 5 she was extremely sensitive to seeing unhappy people and wanted to comfort them.” She maintained that feeling during her fight against the disease, especially during her hospitalization at La Timone in Marseille, where she told her mother that she “wanted to take the suffering of all the hospitalized children.” The family, now living in Paris, will attend the closing session. “We don’t think about this process every day. It hasn’t changed our view of Anne-Gabrielle; she remains our daughter. But it is very valuable because it allows us to know that she continues to do good around her. When we look at it in perspective, it is dizzying, too big for us, it is on another level,” the mother stated.
Next Steps Toward Beatification
The diocesan investigation concludes, but the process continues. The file, sealed on Saturday, will be sent to the Vatican. A Roman postulator will be appointed to study the testimonies. “If the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints is convinced of Anne-Gabrielle’s holiness, it will present the case to the Pope, who, if also convinced, can declare her Venerable. This stage may last another three or four years,” Barthélemy explained. “If there is then a miracle, the girl can be beatified and become a Blessed. If another miracle occurs, she can be canonized.” The Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon has authorized a faithful to create a Novena for Anne-Gabrielle. Although the Church has not yet pronounced on her holiness, it allows the faithful to invoke a deceased person they consider holy.
Original source: www.ici.fr (published December 6, 2024)
Photo: Matea Gregg on Unsplash
