RICHMOND -- With the approval of the Holy See, the Diocese of Richmond formally opened the cause for possible canonization of a former diocesan seminarian who died in 1920 at age 22 while enrolled at the North American College in Rome for theology studies.

Richmond Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, after consultation with other bishops of the Baltimore province, signed a decree that declares Francis Joseph Parater III "a servant of God" and establishes a tribunal "to examine the reputation for sanctity and heroic virtues of Servant of God Frank Parater, seminarian."

The decree, dated Jan. 24, also is signed by Anne C. Edwards, diocesan chancellor,

It is the first time the Richmond Diocese has initiated a sainthood cause, said Father J. Scott Duarte, who has been appointed postulator. He will work on gathering information to be presented to a tribunal or court for examination.

Generally, to declare a person a saint the church requires confirmation that the person practiced Christian virtue to a heroic degree, as evidenced by his or her actions and writings and two miracles ascribed to his or her intercession.

"The process is very complex," said Father Duarte, who as a seminarian also studied at the North American College. Like Parater, he is a native of Richmond. Last year, at the request of Bishop Sullivan, Father Duarte traveled to Rome to ask Vatican officials about the canonization process.

Born Oct. 10, 1897, in Richmond, Parater was educated in Catholic schools. While a student at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, he decided to study for the diocesan priesthood. Richmond Bishop Denis J. O'Connell sent him to the North American College.

Bishop Sullivan told The Catholic Virginian, Richmond's diocesan newspaper, that he chose to begin the canonization process for Parater after becoming more familiar with his life through writings turned over by his family members when the diocesan archives were organized.

"With the development of our archives, I became much more aware of the Frank Parater story, and I was very impressed with this outstanding person," the bishop said.

He cited the seminarian's act of oblation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he wrote and then sealed, to be opened only upon his death. The seminarian died of rheumatic fever on Feb. 7, 1920, 11 days after becoming ill. He was buried in Rome in the mausoleum of North American College's Campo del Verano.

The act of oblation was discovered by a fellow Richmond seminarian, Frank Byrne, who went through Parater's effects and found the sealed and marked envelope. That seminarian became Msgr. Frank Byrne, founding pastor of St. Bridget Parish in Richmond, who died in 1994, more than 74 years later.

In the oblation, Parater wrote:

"I have nothing to leave or give but my life and this I have consecrated to the Sacred Heart to be used as he wills. I have offered my all for the conversion of non-Catholics in Virginia.

"This is what I live for and in case of death what I die for. ... Since my childhood, I have wanted to die for God and my neighbor. Shall I have this grace? I do not know, but if I go on living, I shall live for this same purpose; every action of my life here is offered to God for the spread and success of the Catholic Church in Virginia. ... I shall be of more service to my diocese in heaven than I can ever be on earth."

Bishop Sullivan also spoke of Parater's "Open Letter to the Scouts of Richmond," which was marked and sealed in a similar manner. Bishop John J. Russell, who headed the Richmond Diocese in 1958-73, named a diocesan summer camp for boys after Parater. Camp Parater, located in Caroline County, closed in the 1970s.

Bishop Sullivan wrote to the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes with evidence gathered by Father Duarte; Cardinal Joseph Saraiva Martins, prefect of the congregation, granted permission for the diocese to proceed with the cause.

According to Father Duarte, Parater's act of oblation caught the attention of Pope Benedict XV, who had it published in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, and Pope Pius XI, who "had it copied for his own edification."

Father Duarte, in his role as postulator, is seeking additional information on Parater that may advance his cause.