There is an increasing number of sainthood causes from the Philippines.
On March 27, another cause in the Philippines was begun for Bishop Cesar Maria Guerrero, who was born in Manila and served two dioceses as bishop.
His cause was initiated by Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Dagupan City.
The Vatican has issued a “nihil obstat” from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, stating that there is "nothing in the way" for his cause to be started.
This is the very first step in a cause of beatification and canonization and will require an in-depth investigation of his life.
Once that is complete, the Vatican will be able to review the findings and determine if Guerrero lived a life of "heroic virtue." Once that is confirmed, he would be declared "venerable."
Currently Bishop Cesar Maria Guerrero is known as a "Servant of God," and people can invoke his intercession. If a miracle is confirmed through such prayers, he would be eligible to be beatified and eventually canonized.
Who was Bishop Cesar Maria Guerrero?
Born on January 26, 1885 in Ermita, Manila, Guerrero was ordained a priest on October 28, 1914, after a long period of study.
He attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome after having earned a law degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
Once ordained, Guerrero was appointed in various positions in the Philippines, eventually being ordained a bishop in 1929. Writer Tonette C. Orejas summarizes his ministry in an article for Inquirer.net:
Pope Pius XI appointed him the first bishop of Lingayen in 1929. There, he founded a diocesan seminary in Binmaley, promoted clerical discipline, and advanced pastoral formation.
Guerrero became auxiliary bishop of Manila in 1937, organized the Catholic Action of the Philippines in 1939, and expanded lay participation in church life.
He was well-known for his holiness of life and died of a heart attack on March 27, 1961.
At the initiation of his cause, Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in his homily, “What a luminous twilight this is, as we begin the first steps that will hopefully lead to the canonization of the Servant of God, Bishop Cesar Maria Guerrero, our first bishop, whom his people hailed at his passing as sabio y santo - wise and holy.”