Bro. Richie Fernando, a Filipino Jesuit seminarian, is on the road to sainthood.
Fernando saved his disabled Cambodian students for an exploding grenade. A troubled youngster, Sarom, dropped a grenade, which the then 26-year-old seminarian covered to save the former and the other scholars.
Fr. Antonio Moreno, head of the Jesuits in the Philippines, stated that they are processing the "blessedness" of Fernando. He made this announcement during a mass on July 31, the eve of the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Moreno said that Superior General Father Antonio Sosa had given him his blessing to initiate the purpose of Fernando.
"Blessedness" is the last and final step to sainthood. This kind of sainthood, according to Pope Francis, is the type wherein a person "made a free and voluntary offer of life" and is different from martyrdom which is "death due to another person's hatred of the Catholic faith."
Still, the road to sainthood is a long way. Before Fernando becomes a canonized saint, an investigation and documentation of cases must be done. "Crucial is documentation and case building so when this gets to the competent authorities, he can be beatified and eventually canonized," Moreno said, as reported by Rappler.
There are already two accounts of miraculous intercession of Fernando. One is from a girl from University of Santo Tomas (UST) who was hit by a motorcycle and thrown at a wall. She fell into a coma. A priest who was asked to pray for the girl asked for the intercession by placing the prayer of Fernando in the pillow of the girl. The girl recovered from coma and is now pursuing her degree in Architecture. The second account is from a seven-year old girl who had a heart problem. Again, the priest prayed to Fernando, and the child became well.
"Many religious minorities and civil society activists see Ahok's high-profile trial and prison sentence as symbolic of rising religious intolerance in Indonesia. 'Ahok's case has become a barometer,' a representative of the Ahmadiyya community told Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
