Canonisation
Charles de Foucauld was beatified on November 13th, 2005. In May 2020, Pope Francis approved a second miracle attributed to Blessed Charles’ intercession, which paved the way for his canonisation on the 15th May 2022.
A New Saint and His Miracles
The Two Miracles of Charles de Foucauld
The case of Giovanna Citeri Pulici
The first miracle, which led to the beatification of Charles de Foucauld, took place in 1984 when Giovanna Citeri Pulici, an Italian woman from Milan, was cured of bone cancer through his intercession. Her husband, Giovanni Pulici, invited his two sisters, both nuns, as well as the parish priest, to pray with him to “the hermit of Tamanrasset,” for whom he had a great devotion. It was not until the end of 2000 that Giovanni learned that the postulator of the cause was seeking a miracle. The diocesan inquiry was started in Milan in the autumn of 2002, and concluded in the spring of 2003. In Rome, after an extensive study, the Medical Commission recognized the miracle in July 2004, followed on October 27th by the theological Commission in charge of the dossier.
The first miracle, which led to the beatification of Charles de Foucauld, took place in 1984 when Giovanna Citeri Pulici, an Italian woman from Milan, was cured of bone cancer through his intercession. Her husband, Giovanni Pulici, invited his two sisters, both nuns, as well as the parish priest, to pray with him to “the hermit of Tamanrasset,” for whom he had a great devotion. It was not until the end of 2000 that Giovanni learned that the postulator of the cause was seeking a miracle. The diocesan inquiry was started in Milan in the autumn of 2002, and concluded in the spring of 2003. In Rome, after an extensive study, the Medical Commission recognized the miracle in July 2004, followed on October 27th by the theological Commission in charge of the dossier.
The case of Charles, a 21-year-old carpenter
On May 26th 2020, Pope Francis signed the decree approving a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, paving the way for his canonisation. On November 30th 2016, the eve of the centenary of Charles’ death, a 21-year-old carpenter, helping to restore St. Louis school’s chapel in Saumur in France, fell over 15 metres onto a pew, whose armrest pierced his left side. Seven doctors examined the young man and concluded unanimously that falling from such height and being impaled generally causes organs to “explode.” After the accident, hundreds of people in the Parish of Saumur prayed to Charles de Foucauld to intercede for the healing of the young man. He was hospitalised for six days and returned to work within two months without suffering any physical or psychological side effects. Doctors concluded that this incident could not be explained medically.
On May 26th 2020, Pope Francis signed the decree approving a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, paving the way for his canonisation. On November 30th 2016, the eve of the centenary of Charles’ death, a 21-year-old carpenter, helping to restore St. Louis school’s chapel in Saumur in France, fell over 15 metres onto a pew, whose armrest pierced his left side. Seven doctors examined the young man and concluded unanimously that falling from such height and being impaled generally causes organs to “explode.” After the accident, hundreds of people in the Parish of Saumur prayed to Charles de Foucauld to intercede for the healing of the young man. He was hospitalised for six days and returned to work within two months without suffering any physical or psychological side effects. Doctors concluded that this incident could not be explained medically.
