The canonization process of Fray Leopoldo de Alpandeire, the humble Capuchin friar beatified in September 2010, remains open and on hold. The cause requires that a favor or grace of an extraordinary nature, susceptible to being analyzed as a possible miracle, be presented to the Holy See in order to take the next step toward sainthood.
A constant flow of testimonies
According to the vice-postulator of the cause, Fray Alfonso Ramírez Peralbo, the religious receive around thirty communications a month from the faithful who attribute graces or favors to the intercession of the blessed. These testimonies arrive orally, in writing, or electronically and include accounts of relief from physical ailments after visiting the church of the Divina Pastora in Granada, or even complex clinical situations.
The rigorous filter of the alleged miracle
To date, none of the reported cases has met the necessary conditions to be formally studied as a miracle or referred to the Vatican authorities. Church regulations stipulate that the alleged miracle must have occurred after the beatification. In fact, the only case documented and sent to Rome in 2011 was rejected because it did not meet this time requirement, having occurred before 2010.
Popular devotion and hope
The figure of Fray Leopoldo, who died in 1956, continues to be the object of vigorous devotion in Granada and beyond. His beatification brought together more than 60,000 people at the Armilla Air Base. Every year, thousands of pilgrims visit the crypt where his remains lie, next to the Jardines del Triunfo, to pray and ask for his intercession. The Church celebrates his liturgical memorial every February 9, the anniversary of his death.
The Capuchin friars continue to document each testimony with hope and rigor, aware that the path to canonization is long and requires extraordinary evidence that, until now, has not been presented to the strict canons of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Original source: www.granadahoy.com (published on February 24, 2024)
Photo: ROBERTO GOMIS GARCIA on Unsplash
