The canonization cause for Father Augustus Tolton, who served and died in Chicago, is moving along well. That is the observation of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry who travelled to Rome for a June 9 meeting with the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints to discuss Tolton. Bishop Perry recently sat down with Editor Joyce Duriga to discuss the trip and the future of Tolton’s cause. Catholic New World: How was the trip to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints? Bishop Joseph Perry: I think it was a very pleasant meeting. The prefect, Archbishop Angelo Amato, kind of took the words out of my mouth. He said, “Oh, Father Tolton attended one of our colleges.” (Tolton attended and was ordained a priest through the Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide.) He made like he was just there last week. He articulated the significance of Tolton’s life for the Archdiocese of Chicago, the church in the United States and the black Catholic community in particular. I gave him a summary of my collating of the archival material that we have gathered so far: correspondence that Tolton had with Mother Katherine Drexel from the archives of the Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Pennsylvania; and the Quincy University archives. … Also items from the Diocese of Springfield and a number of newspapers articles from newspapers here in Chicago at the time in which Tolton was here and in Quincy. So I gave them a summary of that and I gave them a copy of Cyprian Davis’ book “The History of Black Catholics in the United States,” and Sister Caroline Hemesath’s biography “From Slave to Priest.” Then we talked about next steps and that is putting the juridical structure around the cause. The cause is vetted through a tribunal that is set up for it, which essentially has an overseer of the process called an episcopal delegate and you have notaries and you have a promoter of justice. It falls under the purview of the courts, so to speak, to rule on the authenticity of all the documents, correspondence, all the archival material. In addition to that there is of necessity a commission called a historical commission. The cardinal and I have been talking about who would perhaps be on that. It’s about three or four people who are versed in history and archives, who can look at the material we have gathered so far to see if there are any other avenues or facts that need further inquiry or research. All of that material is handed over to the court for its review. We are going to be naming that commission pretty soon. One last piece is a guild. The guild, which we will probably call the Father Tolton Guild, for causes of this nature, you have a group of laity and clergy who somehow promote the popularization of the cause. I serve on the Archbishop Fulton Sheen guild, which is similar, and operates out of Peoria. What that is is a group of people that promotes the cause and holds receptions and educational pieces. In this modern age, they also create things like CDs and videos, to help spread the knowledge of the saint and support. They are kind of the energy behind the whole thing. Ultimately, all of this is put together in a volume that is called a “positio.” That is what is handed to the Holy Father after the congregation signs off on it. After he is pleased with it, Father Tolton is called “venerable.” Following my meeting in Rome, Cardinal George wrote a letter to the congregation asking for the “nihil obstat” to get everything going, because it needs an official request of the diocesan bishop. Hopefully Rome responds to the cardinal shortly naming him [Father Tolton] Servant of God. CNW: Will it be a while until he’s named venerable? Bishop Perry: Once we get all of this research and the positio to the Holy Father he will be named venerable. After that we wait for a miracle. There are about 14,000 of our cards and leaflets that we made out in circulation. We get new requests everyday from people who want them. The word is out there. Hopefully someone has a need that God will bless through the intercession of Tolton. We’ll see how it goes. CNW: Going through all of this history of Tolton, did you discover anything new? Bishop Perry: Not really because I had digested much of the archival material before I went to Rome. Obviously when I went through the archival material I learned a lot that I did not know previously about Tolton because he’s always been sort of in the background. We knew he existed, knew he was a saintly priest and quite an inspiration to seminarians and so forth. A lot of the detail and especially some of the more suffering aspects of his life we didn’t know. A lot of his personality is revealed in his letters, all of his handwritten letters. I learned an awful lot about him that way. I find myself talking to him, reminding him that his peace is now being disturbed by many people plaguing him with requests. I hope he forgives us. (Bishop laughs.) CNW: What is your impression of Father Tolton after sifting through all of this material? Bishop Perry: I find him a very lovely person, a meek person, a person who loved people and he loved this Catholic Church of ours even when it was really throwing mud at him and was very hesitant of even receiving him. He believed the Catholic Church was really the means of salvation for blacks at that time — freed slaves, people who were trying to make their way in society during Reconstruction when, after emancipation, there were no structures to bring blacks into the mainstream of society. They had to push and shove where they could and oftentimes they were not well received. Where that was evident in the church he somehow remained faithful and always had a great sense of hope that things could be different. Of course, his priestly ministry was beyond the black community. There were many whites who came to him — of course that got him in trouble in Quincy — and there were many whites who came to him here in Chicago. There were people who loved him. He was no softie in that sense but he was a gentle soul. CNW: What do you need from people now? Bishop Perry: Prayer. Prayer and intercession that God will favor the church in Chicago — or will favor anyone with God’s intervention in their life through Tolton’s intercession. As we put on different events, we will be inviting people to come. Bishop Perry is coordinating efforts to promote Tolton’s cause for sainthood in the Vatican. To receive a prayer card, write to Prayer Cards, P.O. Box 733, South Holland, IL 60473-0733. Any financial contributions should be made payable to the Archdiocese of Chicago. Stages of canonization Servant of God: Promoter group (diocese, parish, religious congregation, etc.) asks the bishop for an opening of an investigation. A “nihil obstat” is granted from the Vatican for the candidate to be called, “servant of God.” Diocesan tribunal hears witnesses and testimony on heroic Christian virtues. “Servant of God” describes someone at this stage of the process. Venerable: The postulator presents acts and documentation (Positio) to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. After favorable judgment and papal approval, the candidate is declared “Venerable.” Blessed: After a miracle attributed to the intercession of the “Venerable” has been investigated and accepted, the pope decides on beatification. The candidate is now titled “Blessed.” Saint: After a second miracle is attributed to the intercession of the “Blessed,” the pope may then declare the Blessed a “Saint.” Source: www.familyrosary.com His life at a glance Born into slavery, April 1, 1854 in Missouri Martha Tolton escaped with her children to Quincy, Ill., in 1862. Entered St. Boniface School; left after about a month because parish and staff were being threatened and harassed by his presence, 1865 Entered St. Peter’s School, 1868 Received his First Communion in 1870 at 16 on the feast of Corpus Christi. Graduated from St. Peter’s in 1872 at 18. Enrolled in St. Francis College — now Quincy University — in 1878. He received special instruction because he was far advanced over the other students. Feb. 15, 1880, departs for Rome to enter the seminary at the Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide. Expects to become a missionary priest in Africa. Ordained on April 24, 1886, at St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome and told he would be a missionary to his home country of the United States and will return to Quincy. Celebrates his first Mass in Quincy on July 18, 1886, at St. Boniface Church, and becomes pastor of St. Joseph Church. December 1889, Father Tolton heads to Chicago 1891, St. Monica Church opens in a storefront in the 2200 block of South Indiana July 9, 1897 he died of heat stroke while returning from a priests’ retreat. He was 43. Source: “From Slave to Priest,” by Sister Caroline Hemesath.