The Ceremony
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About twenty minutes before the opening procession, the 40 member Mother Marianne choir sang Makalapua, a favorite musical piece of Mother Marianne. The lively appearing singers dressed in aloha wear and adorned with red and white leis was composed of lay people and Franciscan sisters. The choir leader who led the nearby Sistine choir in charge of providing the music for the Mass was pleased and complimented the rendition.The mood was joyful with evident great happiness on the part of all pilgrims to be present.
To begin the ceremony an acolyte carrying a golden cross led the procession of nearly one hundred priests, six bishops and two Cardinals to the altar. Cardinal Martins who presided at the Mass wore a gold miter. It was especially good to have the presence of Agostino Cardinal Cacciavillan, the former Apostolic pro-Nuncio or Ambassador of the Vatican to the United States, who had visited the Sisters of Saint Francis at their Motherhouse in Syracuse a few times and expressed special interest in the Cause of Mother Marianne.
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The Rite of beatification followed the Kyrie. Two Bishops presented the Venerables for their church honoring, one from Spain and one from the Diocese of Syracuse, the Most Rev. Bishop James M. Moynihan. Syracuse was the diocese of Mother Marianne's youth and twenty-one year church ministry in New York State before her service in Hawaii. It is the location of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Saint Francis, the community Mother Marianne joined in 1862.
Both bishops read brief biographical sketches of the lives of the Blesseds. Bishop Moynihan read Mother Marianne's sketch in English. He chose to begin his oration with the words that so beautifully characterize Mother Marianne's extraordinary heart and valor: "I am hungry for the work.... I am not afraid of any disease. It will be my greatest delight to minister to the abandoned 'leper.'"
Cardinal Prefect Reads the Apostolic Letter Pronouncing the Beatification
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the head of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, then recited in Latin Pope Benedict's apostolic letter pronouncing the beatification of both women. His announcement included the decision that the feastday of Mother Marianne on the church calendar would be January 23rd, the date of her birth. The Cardinal chose to speak of Mother's ready response to the call of God to service: "Blessed Marianne heard the voice of Christ in the invitation of the Bishop of Honolulu.... Like Isaiah, she did not hesitate to answer: 'Here I am. Send me.'"
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Beatification a Papal Approved Act: Pope Benedict Revives a Procedure
It was big news and an unexpected development when Pope Benedict on May 14th, 2005, revived the practice of delegating a Cardinal to preside at a beatification. It happened to be the one of our own Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai as well as that of Mother Ascension Nicol Goni, a Spanish founder of a religious order. This was the first beatification of his Pontificate and he wished to begin immediately to set up a new procedure in the ceremony itself.
Was the Beatification a less important action of the Church than formerly? Not at all. The Supreme Pontiff has to make the final decision whether or not a beatification will take place so the action is a Pontifically approved one. Pope John Paul II had issued a decree in approval of a miracle at a special session that took place at the Vatican on December 20th, 2004. Venerable Marianne Cope had now the required miracle that would make her eligible for beatification. Two months later a date had been given for her expected beatification.
So what was going on here? Simply said, Pope Benedict was reverting to the practice that took place before Pope Paul VI began presiding over beatifications in 1971. It was becoming apparent that the ceremonies of Beatification and Canonization at the Vatican were so similar that there was no clear distinction in the public's mind between the significance of the two proclamations. The Blessed receives most of the same essential privileges in the Church and so the distinction is lost on many.
Pope Benedict is clarifying that when the Holy Father presides at the ceremony, namely at a Canonization, that this is a Saint for the universal church. He is not saying that Blesseds deserve less attention than they have been given the last three decades by the Holy Father presiding at the ceremony but that he espouses the policy that there is a distinction between beatification and canonization. He advocates that some Blesseds be recognized in their own diocese with a Papal Delegate presiding at the ceremony instead of at a Vatican ceremony. He clearly has in mind that "figures who can be examples in a specific environment" can be beatified in that environmental setting. These Blesseds may or may not become canonized Saints at a later time. Another important step has to be taken before Sainthood, namely, the verification of a miracle by medical and church authorities. The miracle must take place after the Blessed is beatified.
Pope Benedict XVI has indicated in statements that he believes the same as Pope John Paul II on the need for canonized Saints and that God continues to call and raise up Saints among the faithful. His strongest statements to date are in regard to the choice of the candidates for Vatican honors. Briefly stated, he urges special care be taken that the person proposed for Sainthood be truly holy and not be chosen mainly for humanitarian prominence or other reasons.