History and Status of Mother Aubert’s Cause

History

The Cause for Aubert’s beatification and canonisation officially began in 2004, but it was preceded by decades of preparation which culminated in 1997 when the “Introduction of the Cause of Suzanne Aubert” was supported by the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference.

In 2007, Father Maurice Carmody, a priest of the Archdiocese of Wellington, was appointed as the Roman Postulator for Aubert’s Cause. As Postulator, he is responsible for guiding the Cause through the judiciary processes of the Catholic Church.

In 2012, after years of collaborative research undertaken by Father Carmody, Sister Margaret Anne Mills, and Sister Josephine Gorman, an 800-page Positio was completed. The Positio is the sum of collected evidence gathered on a prospective Saint’s life and work, which is sent to the Vatican to support the Cause for Sainthood.

In 2013, three bound copies were sent to Rome, and the Vatican accepted the evidence of the Positio and granted Aubert the status of “Servant of God”.

In December 2016, Pope Francis formally acknowledged that “the Servant of God, Mary Joseph Aubert” was a woman of heroic virtue and therefore worthy of the title “Venerable”.

Current Status

Having proceeded through the first three stages, all that is required for Aubert to be canonised is evidence that the prospective saint has interceded in two miracles. The first miracle grants Beatification, and the second, Canonisation.