The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-08-04
COSTS FORTUNE 40 BE
A.SAINT BUT PRICE Is
+ DOWN AT PRESENT TIME
In the Fourth and Fifth Cen.
!. turtles consrss alton IS Rites I
g Rendered Huge Bills 8
s BY Camille Cianfarra

sA3Gs tCU01ted Ffe06ACOIIeHpOuu0nt II f.,
Rome. July ~. X BY Mail - How
[muchsd does A. cost to- become q saint?"
'The question Is hard to answer {
said a prelate formerly connected
with: the Vatican sexchequer,S" az the
cost Of q canonixation the most
EdtKicult to figure In details, first be-
cause the. items large and small to be
taken into account are many; and,
second, because the cost Of qualifying
for q place on the affairs OF tho Cath.
Eolic church varies from saint TO
saint, and is chiefly based on the A.
nancialz resources and wealth Of the
saints relatives, or those sof the re-
ligious order demanding his canon
izatior. ssy 5s = s2
To-day, = the prelate continued,
'.the expenses connected with q can.
onization are not asssheaxy AZ they
used to. be. In the fourt b fifth and
sixth centuries, the congregation Of
rites which has charge at the work
used to render bills that ran into. mill
lions. s5<s.s i: q T
i'''As. is, known, In past centuries
the different monastic orders We'd
with one another representing to the
church candi dates for beatification
first and canonization u afterwards.
The Importance, prestige and renown
Of an, order was based not on the
services 1t rendered to the church or
to mankind, but on the number Of
saints had given to the church.
The same was true for communities
Of CATHOLIC countries. The canonfz-
alton Of saint greatly increased the
fame Of his native town or city, and
often give his birth place world
wide 5reputation.. 81 II ;$,1 s.. = :
i"Padua,1 for instance, which has
neither an artistic nor EXCEPTIONALLY
historical claim to fame, Is q house
hold word because she was the cradle
Of st. Anthony, and because within
her walls the saint used to@perform
thirteen miracles day, and for that
many years. -.
e According to documents existing
in the archives of the Vatican, there
are monastic orders that begged for
a number of years in order to defray
the expenses Of "a canonizati0 The
small city of Paola, the birth place
Of St. Francis, went nearly bankrupt
to raise her son to the h0nors Of the
altar. The present made to the then
Pontif Leo X, the munif1cent. patron
Of arts of the Renaissance alone
were valued at $4,000. $5si53 ~
u ..Benedica XIV, in his effort to
democratize the church, and. give the
poor candidates a chance, greatly re-
duced the expenses, but low as they
are now, they still average from $40, :.
900. IL ss 5s.ss% :: !. ~ 49, "a
@r"The, canonization Of Jean d'Arc
has cost considerably more. The life
of the saint, presented. to- the Pope
cost Is 300 francs, and herr portrait
10000. What. the cost is Of the other
.oil paintings which had to be pre-;
eented to the cardinal proposing the
canonization, to the AUDITOR the sec
retary- of the congregation Of rites
and the saints lawyers, is not known.
The price tof the papal bull sisxnearly
800; the presents to those partici-
hating in the various ceremonies, are
valued at $4,000, while the personnel
1T st. Peters archpriests, canons and
Observation-Disclosures nearly $4,000
1.-THE translation Of documents into
Latin-and there are thousands OF
pages of them-cost 8 cents q page.
and what the fee was of the medical
experts and the. several lawyers de-
tending the church against the at
tacks Of the church prosecutor is not
known to the public. ~ vi sfs:93.< ~.
i, 1T is interesting to add" the pre-
late concluded, that many who aspir-
ed to title of saints went no farther
than the rank Of blessed because ell
ther, their families or their sponsors
failed to raise the necessary funds.
This was the case Of the Blessed Fred
erick Borromeo, a cousin Of St: Char
les, of the wel1-known nob1es Milan
ese family, who went no farther than han;
the beatification because the canon
ization Of ST. Charles had cost such g
fabulous sum- .,z : Z! ;} <s .s4 T.:
nnCTsC CIV lIIIIInAT tn