Every step forward in the causes of beatification and canonization is reason to be thankful as they often progress slowly. In the cause of Fr Pedro Arrupe (1907-1991), 28^th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, we will mark another step forward on 14 November, the anniversary of his birth.

The Closing Session of the diocesan process on the life, virtues, reputation for holiness and signs of the Servant of God, presided over by His Excellency Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, is scheduled for 12 noon. It will take place at the Lateran Apostolic Palace, in the beautiful Hall of Conciliation, where the Lateran Pacts were signed in 1929. It was there, just under six years ago, on 5 February 2019, that the Opening Session of the cause was held. All of these took place in Rome, where Fr Arrupe had died 28 years earlier.

Starting then, the tribunal began its work to collect oral and documentary evidence to support the fame of sanctity of the Jesuit General. Despite the disruptions caused by Covid-19, more than 70 witnesses were questioned in Rome, Madrid (Spain) and Japan, covering the main places where he had lived.

At the same time, a Historical Commission composed of Gianni La Bella, Monica Borsari, Robert Danieluk, SJ, Massimo De Giuseppe and Carlo Luongo patiently collected almost ten thousand pages of unpublished writings of Fr Arrupe, especially his correspondence with Jesuits and others during his government in Rome. Would it be an exaggeration to think that he wrote, on average, about twenty letters a day during the 18 years he was at the head of the Society and the 15 years he was president of the male religious (Union of Superiors General)?

All this documentation was consulted, searching for the most significant aspects of his person and activity. With this selection, which also contains other printed material related to his life and reputation for holiness, the Commission prepared a rich and extensive report. In addition, several theological censors went through his numerous published writings – some in Japanese – and found that there was nothing in them contrary to the “faith and customs” of the Church.

All these pages make up the bulk of documents that on 14 November, in a session open to the public, will be presented in boxes that will be closed and sealed. The ceremony, which will conclude the diocesan phase, will be completed with oaths, speeches and prayers and can be followed live via a link that will be provided in due course. Once the session is over, the Acts will be transported directly to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where the next phase of the canonical process will begin: the “Roman” phase. There, they will be officially opened, and their contents will then be reviewed to certify if they have been correctly and completely collected. Once this is the case, the Causes of the Saints will clear the way for the next step: the drafting of the Positio by the General Postulation of the Society, assisted by officials of the Dicastery. Once again, an obligatory selection of the diocesan Acts will be carried out, to consolidate it in one or two volumes that will be finally examined and judged by the Church: by theologians, bishops and cardinals, and the Pope himself. All this will take several years, until he can eventually be declared “Venerable”.

Let us thank God for this whole process and ask the intercession of this extraordinary man of God and of the Church who was Fr Arrupe for our world and our needs.