Contact: Heather Gallagher, 858-354-6606

BALTIMORE, Md., Nov. 20, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- At Tuesday afternoon's session of the meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the US bishops were unprepared for the reference to a so-called mystical gift which Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF, a priest proposed for sainthood, is said to have experienced. During the pro-forma consultation requested by Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, there was an objection raised by one prelate who wanted a clarification about what Catholics believe about the Eucharist. The objection and the ensuing discussion caused an intensity so unexpected that the surprised President of the USCCB, Archbishop Donald Kurtz, had to delay the two other sainthood consultations until after the break.

What stumped the bishops was whether there is a "mystical grace" in which the Eucharistic presence remains intact after a person has received Holy Communion. For Catholics the Eucharist or "Holy Communion" is the actual Body and Blood of Jesus. The reaction was to a statement that Fr. Aloysius experienced this mystical grace, and this lead to the question, "What does this mean?"

At one point Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, intervened to give his own personal testimony about Fr. Aloysius and his holiness. According to Cardinal Rigali, the key to this discussion is found in the life of St. Anthony Mary Claret, the founder of the Claretians to which Fr. Aloysius belonged.

Bishop Placido Rodriguez of Lubbock, Texas gave his experience with Fr. Aloysius. He lived for a year in the same house as a Claretian novice, from August 1959 to September 1960. He recalled how on Wednesdays he assisted Fr. Aloysius as altar server during the Mass (the Eucharist). Fr. Aloysius celebrated with such devotion, that he was rumored to have "levitated" during the Mass, at least in the peoples mind. Both Cardinal Rigali and Bishop Rodriguez suggested their fellow bishops examine the life and writings of St. Anthony Mary Claret, canonized by the Catholic Church in 1950, especially his "Autobiography," in which St. Anthony Mary Claret claims this same mystic grace. That Fr. Aloysius would follow the spirituality and example of his founder, St. Anthony Mary Claret, should not be surprising.

After the tense interchange, the USCCB assembly of bishops approved Archbishop Gomez' request for moral support for the cause of canonization of Fr. Aloysius.

www.aloysius.com

Transcript & link of USCCB Consultation of Canonization Causes