IV

It is good to give THANKS!

Conclusion

Words of thanks always warm our hearts.

With God, we thank the two generations of General administration who courageously continued the cause of Canonization of Blessed Marie Rivier. We thank the late Sr. Susan Frederick who began the sorting out of previous documents and the initial collection of favours received from many people.  She also documented the miraculous healing of an unborn child in Nahawan, Clarin. Sr. Susan died on December 15, 2016.  Sr. Geneviève Couriaud then took on this important dossier. In August 2017 Mother Angèle Dion took the important step of appointing a Postulator, Dr. Waldery Hilgeman, who was an indispensable person for the postulation work of the Cause of Canonization. After the General Chapter of 2017, Mother Maria dos Anjos Alves courageously and patiently continued and followed the process with the strong support of her Council. Thank you!

Gratitude to the Province of the Philippines and the Diocese of Tagbilaran for the preparation of the Diocesan Inquiry of the miraculous healing. Thank you to the Tribunal Team composed of Bishop Alberto Uy, Fr. Ramon Oncog, Fr. Nino, Miss Evamy Escol, Miss Corazon Sunga and  Dr. Esperanza Cruz Santos. With them was our Postulator and the Vice Postulator. We are also grateful for the valuable contribution of the witnesses in both the spiritual and medical aspects of the inquiry. We particularly thank the Degamo Family whose testimony was very precious indeed. Thank you!

We want to thank, in a very special way, our Postulator, Dr. Waldery Hilgeman. His expertise in this field was coupled with his faith in the Cause of Mother Rivier’s canonization. His regular updates of the different stages of the process kept our hopes high.

He worked painstakingly on the various documents that were needed and was a faithful link for us with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Thanks to his dedication, diligence, and tenacity, we reached a happy conclusion. His work bore fruit for our Congregation and for the Church. We thank our Vice Postulator, Dr. Emanuele Spedicato, whose work with us was brief, but he continued to be present through his friendship and encouraging support for the Cause.  We are forever grateful!

We also thank the Congregation for the Causes of Saints who studied and verified the authenticity of the miracle. We would like to mention three names: Cardinal Marcello Semerarro, Fr Bugoslav Turek, and our Holy Father Francis. We also know that there were many other persons involved in the process as we looked at the number of signatures that appear in the different documents pertinent to the Cause. We are grateful to all of them. We praise God!

Our deepest thanks goes to the most important and indispensable help we received during this time: the unceasing prayers of all the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary – in heaven and on earth – and all the spiritual daughters and sons of Mother Rivier throughout the world! Our hearts are most grateful!

We also want to take this opportunity to thank the PM Liturgy committee for the interwoven beauty of our PM culture in worship as well as the facilitators of the different fraternal gatherings both at the Centro Angelicum and the Centro Mariapoli.

We thank the venues of our various gatherings: The Basilicas of St. Ambrose and Charles, Santa Maria Maggiore and Piazza San Pietro as well as the Centro Angelicum and Centro Mariapoli who were generous in their welcome. We thank the collaborative services of the General House community and employees, the Italian Travel Solution for bus transportation, the canonization souvenirs from Comandini, Turella, Editions Signe, Colombo Medals, and our Sisters of the Province of Spain as well as the chefs who prepared the meals we shared. And others not mentioned, a sincere thank you.

The celebration was not meant to be lived only in Rome, but all over our PM world. For media and live streaming of the events, we say thank you to Simona Borello of the Mediacor and their collaborators: Simone Andriollo, Gloria Giordani, Aurora Sanna and Nicolas Perinelli. A special thanks to the CEO, Paolo Pellegrini who discreetly accompanied the events.

To all who travelled from near and far, to the immense delegations from our PM world from the four continents of Africa, Asia, Europe and the America, in spite of the short time for preparation,  we thank you deeply from our hearts! Your presence is a cherished memory of the Canonization of Saint Marie Rivier! God bless you all!

Viva Saint Marie Rivier!

All for God! All through Holy Love!