VATICAN CITY — The Vatican announced that due to the coronavirus
pandemic, several beatifications scheduled for May and June will be postponed,
including the beatification of a mentor and friend of St. John Paul II.
In a statement released at the end of April, the Congregation for
Saints' Causes said the beatifications also would be delayed in order to
respect social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"Due to the ongoing pandemic situation and the necessary
prudential measures that must be taken regarding religious ceremonies involving
the presence of numerous faithful, at the request of the bishops concerned, the
beatifications that had been set for the coming months are postponed," the
statement said. New dates for the ceremonies have not been set.
Among the beatifications that were postponed was that of Cardinal
Stefan Wyszynski, who was primate of Poland from 1949 until his death from
cancer in 1981. He was Poland's youngest bishop when he was installed as
archbishop of Warsaw and Gniezno during communist rule.
In 1953, several months after he was made cardinal, he was placed
under house arrest after he called on the Catholic Church in Poland to resist
against the communist government. He was released three years later after the
events of the Polish October revolution that ended Stalinism in the country.
Among his proteges was the future St. John Paul II. When
then-Father Karol Wojtyla was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow, the
cardinal presented him to a group of priests, saying "Habemus papam"
("We have a pope").
In a statement released April 28, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz of
Warsaw said that postponing Cardinal Wyszynski's beatification was necessary
because "people's safety must always come first."
"In view of this, once the pandemic is over, we will
organize the beatification ceremony in Warsaw in a decent, solemn and modest
way that takes the consequences of the pandemic into consideration,"
Cardinal Nycz said.
The Congregation for Saints' Causes also announced the
postponement of the beatifications of:
— Sister Maria Ripamonti, also known as Sister Lucia of the
Immaculate. Born in Italy in 1909, she was a member of the Handmaids of
Charity. She died in 1954 and was to be beatified May 9.
— Maria Velotti, founder of the Adoration Sisters of the Holy
Cross. She was born in 1826 and died in 1886 in Casoria, Italy. She was to be
beatified May 16.
— Father Cayetano Gimenez Martin and 15 companions killed in 1936
during the Spanish civil war, who were to be beatified May 23.
— Sandra Sabattini, a young Italian laywoman who was active in
helping the poor with the Pope John XXIII Community. Born in 1961, she died in
1984 and was to be beatified June 14.