Pope advances sainthood cause of Canadian nun

May Mother Bruyere continue to guide her fellow sisters and sustain them in their efforts as they continue to cater to the needs of the people of Ottawa.”

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause of a Canadian nun who founded Ottawa’s first hospital and dedicated her life to abandoned children and the elderly.

At a meeting April 14 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the Pope signed a decree recognizing that Canadian Sister Elisabeth Bruyere, founder of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, lived the Christian virtues in a special way.

He also signed decrees recognizing the heroic virtues of four other women and three men. They could be beatified once a miracle attributed to their intercession is recognized.

A second miracle is needed for canonization, which is a declaration of sainthood.

Born March 19, 1818, Sr. Bruyere entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal before setting up a community in Ottawa, which at the time was called Bytown.

Three months after her arrival in 1845, she and several other sisters founded a school, a general hospital, an orphanage and a home for the elderly to assist the many English, Irish and Scottish immigrants who arrived in the French-Canadian town. She died in 1876.

Following the announcement of the decree, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa said Sister Bruyere’s life and ministry reflected “God’s love for us all.”

“May Mother Bruyere continue to guide her fellow sisters and sustain them in their efforts as they continue to cater to the needs of the people of Ottawa,” he said.

The other decrees signed by the Pope recognized the heroic virtues of:

•Indian Syro-Malabar Father Varghese Payyappilly, founder of the Congregation of Sisters of the Destitute. He died in 1929.

•Portuguese Father Manuel Nunes Formigao, founder of the Congregation of Our Lady of Fatima’s Sisters of Reparation. He died in Fatima in 1958.

•Italian Father Ludovico Longari, a professed member of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. He died in 1963.

•Sister Margherita Ricci Curbastro, Italian founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony. She was born in 1856 and died in 1923.

•Italian Sister Florenzia Giovanna Profilio, founder of the Institute of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Lipari. She died in Rome in 1956.

•Italian Sister Maria Dolores Di Majo, founder of the Congregation of the Missionary Handmaids of Christ the King. She was born in Palermo in 1888 and died in 1967.

•Spanish Sister Justa Dominguez de Vidaurreta Idoy, superior of the Spanish province of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. She died in Madrid in 1958.