Fr. Carlos Crespi's Positio super virtutibus Delivered in Rome
(ANS - Vatican City – March 15, 2021)
– On March 12 the volume of the Positio super Vita, Virtutibus, et Fama Sanctitatis
of the Servant of God Fr. Carlos Crespi Croci, SDB, was delivered to the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican.
The Positio had as relator Msgr. José Jaime Brosel Gavilá, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni as postulator, and Dr. Mariafrancesca Oggianu as collaborator. Structural elements of the Positio – which presents in an articulated and in-depth manner the entire documentary and testifying apparatus of evidence regarding the virtuous life of the Servant of God – are a brief presentation by the relator; the Informatio super virtutibus, that is, the theological part in which the virtuous life of the Servant of God is demonstrated; the two Summaria with textual and documentary proofs; the Biographia ex Documentis; the latest sessions and the iconographic apparatus.
After delivery, the Positio will be
examined by the theological consultors of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Then it will be studied by the cardinals and bishops of the same Congregation. These
articulated stages of study and evaluation will allow the Supreme Pontiff, in the
event of a positive outcome, to declare Fr. Carlo Crespi “Venerable.” A miracle
attributed to his intercession will then be needed to pave the way for beatification.
This news has aroused great joy, both in Ecuador,
in particular in Cuenca, where it is welcomed as a sign of hope in this time of
trial that touches the whole world; and in Legnano (Milan), Fr. Crespi’s birthplace,
where for some years a group of people has dedicated itself to promoting his cause,
highlighting his brilliant, highly original figure; he stands out for his intelligent
sympathy and his absolute non-uniformity to the usual “norms.”
Fr. Crespi welcomed the Salesian call and,
as a true imitator of Don Bosco, became a witness to a Church that urges people
to “go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the peripheries
in need of the light of the Gospel” (Pope Francis, Evangelii
gaudium, 2013). Fr. Crespi’s life tells Christians of yesterday and today how
prayer can and must be inserted into the concrete actions in everyday life, encouraging
and inspiring it. He is a credible witness of an “evangelizing style capable of
affecting life” (Pope Francis, Address to Italian Catholic Action, May 3, 2014).
To this day his tomb and his monument continue to be perennially embellished with
fresh flowers and thank-you plaques. While the reputation for holiness of this illustrious
son of Cuenca shows no signs of diminishing, the drafting of the Positio super
virtutibus marks an important step as far as his cause ofbBeatification is concerned.
All that remains is to wait with confidence
for the wise judgment of the Church.
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