Diocesan inquiry into cause for beatification, canonization of Ka Luring starts

The diocesan phase of the cause for the beaitifcation and canonization of catechist Laureana "Ka Luring" Franco was formally opened on Wednesday by Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert C. Vergara.

The announcement came more than a month after the Diocese of Pasig received a letter of approval from the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The launch was held at the Minor Basilica and Archdiocesan Shrine Parish of St. Anne in Taguig City in which he also confirmed the appointment of the members of the tribunal that will handle the case.

The Diocesan Tribunal "ill be responsible for hearing witnesses and everything that pertains to the process and members of the Historical Commission in charge of all works, written or otherwise of the Servant of God."

The members of the tribunal are Laoag Bishop Renato Mayugba, who is also the Chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Office for the Postulation of the Causes of Saints, Vicar General Fr. Orlando Cantillo, and the Rector and Parish Priest of the Minor Basilica and Archdiocesan Shrine Parish of St. Anne

The postulator or the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes of the Catholic Church is Dr. Erickson Javier, who submitted the supplex libelus to Bishop Vergara.

The document contains, among others, the biography of Ka Luring.

Bishop Mylo Vergara, in his homily, also shared the time he worked with the Pasig-based catechist as a young priest.

He related that as seminary formator at the Holy Apostles Senior Seminary from 1991 up to 2001, he would celebrate mass at the parish of Ka Luring, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Hagonoy.

"Bukod sa naging kaibigan ko si Ka Luring, naging inspirasyon ko siya para maisabuhay ko ang aking sinumpaan nung ako’y naging pari. Nakita ko sa kanya ang kababaang-loob, kasipagan sa paglilingkod bilang katekista, at pagsasabuhay ng karukhaan na puspos ang pagtitiwala sa Diyos sa kanyang ministerio," he said.

Ka Luring, who was the eldest of eight children, studied in various catechetical centers and formation houses before teaching catechism to students of public schools.

She worked as a telephone switchboard operator and clerk at the Villamor Airbase of the Philippine Air Force from 1963 to 1969.

But she left her work to become a full-time catechist.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Ka Luring began with the circular from Bishop Vergara issued in February this year, which stated in part that "The Diocese of Pasig is proposing a candidate for sainthood in the person of the Servant of God, Laureana "Ka Luring" Franco of Hagonoy, Taguig City."

Vergara then received a letter of approval from the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which was disclosed last month.

"The apostolic nuncio, Abp. Charles Brown and his secretary, Msgr. Giuseppe Trentadue handed me the ‘nihil obstat’ from Rome for the cause of beatification and canonization of Servant of God Laurena ‘Ka Luring’ Franco," Vergara posted on his social media account. — BAP, GMA Integrated News