May 22, 2002
A
Saint from Richmond?
On
All Souls' Day last year, I accompanied several priests and students of Rome's
Pontifical North American College to a Mass being offered at the college
mausoleum in Rome's great cemetery, Campo Verano, for a memorial Mass.
Exploring the memorial inscriptions after Mass, I came upon the name
"Franciscus Parater." A student asked whether I had read "Frank
Parater's Prayer" in the college "Manual of Prayers." I had to
confess that I hadn't. "Don't miss it," my young friend said.
The
"prayer" is in fact a last will and testament, written shortly before
the 22-year-old seminarian fell ill during his first year of studies in Rome.
In it, Frank Parater offered his life to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the
conversion of Virginia: "I have nothing to leave or give but my life and
this I have consecrated to the Sacred Heart to be used as he wills. I have
offered my all for the conversion of non-Catholics in Virginia. This is what I
live for and in case of death what I die for ... Since my childhood, I have wanted to die for God and my neighbor.
Shall I have this grace? I do not know, but if I go on living, I live for this
same purpose; every action of my life here is offered to God for the spread and
success of the Catholic Church in Virginia ... I shall be of more service to my
diocese in heaven than I can ever be on earth." That was written on Dec.
5, 1919, and sealed in an envelope to be opened in case of Frank's unexpected
death. Frank Parater died of rheumatic fever on Feb. 7, 1920.
Some time later, a fellow-seminarian discovered the
letter while sorting through Parater’s effects. Pope Benedict XV asked for a
copy of Frank Parater's testament, as did Pope Pius XI. Then the Church and the
world seemed to move on, while Frank Parater worked for the Diocese of Richmond
from a distance, so to speak.
It took another young Richmond native, J. Scott
Duarte, to bring the story of Frank Parater back to life. Discovering this
remarkable tale during his own student days in Rome, Father Duarte kept Frank
Parater in mind after his ordination and during his graduate studies in canon
law. Years of research and prayer were rewarded this past January, when Bishop
Walter Sullivan of Richmond established a diocesan tribunal, under Father Duarte's
leadership, to "examine the reputation for sanctity and heroic virtues of
[the] Servant of God Frank Parater, Seminarian." After the local
investigation is completed, the cause will be sent to Rome.
Amidst the current turmoil in the Catholic Church
in the United States, some might wonder about the utility, even propriety, of
such causes. Isn't it more important to reform priestly formation today than to
expend time, energy, and resources digging into the life of a seminarian dead
for over three-quarters of a century? But perhaps the two go together.
The reform of seminary formation for the 21st
century should have one overriding goal: to insure that American seminaries
graduate men of holiness, integrity, and zeal. By every written account from the
time of his death, Frank Parater was a model of holiness, integrity, and zeal.
Is it too much to imagine that his intercession will be a crucial factor in the
ongoing reform of priestly formation in the United States? Only if you don't
believe in the communion of saints. More dioceses should be doing what Richmond
is doing: seeking exemplars of sanctity from every way of life and lifting them
up as models for Catholics today.
The last time I checked, the Archdiocese of Cracow
had some 50 beatification causes under investigation. Some were due to the
special circumstances of World War II and the Nazi occupation, but many others
were less dramatic: a woman who organized nursing care for the indigent
elderly; an auxiliary bishop who had been an effective university chaplain; an
engineer who was a model husband, father, sportsman and friend.
Is any American diocese so actively lifting up
local examples of sanctity? Reform requires saints. The introduction of Frank
Parater's cause couldn't have come at a better time
by George Weigel
Ethics & Public Policy Center
Washington, DC
compliments of The Denver Catholic Register
