Long Walk to Sainthood: When will Jo’burg couple be saints?

The Inquiry for the Cause for Sainthood of the Servants of God Domitilla and Danny Hyams, founders of the Little Eden homes in Johannesburg, was officially launched in April. With that, the couple’s journey on the path to canonised sainthood has formally begun — though there is no telling how long it might take to get there, or whether that path will even be completed.

So they might never become saints?

We may personally believe that they are saints already, and we may ask anybody who we believe to be in heaven to intercede for us. But the Church reserves the right to officially declare that they are saints with God, worthy of public veneration by the faithful. The Church does that through canonisation.

Who were the Hyams?

The Hyams were the couple who founded Little Eden, a home for intellectually-challenged adults and children, in Edenvale, Johannesburg, in 1967. Domitilla, the driving force behind the project, was born in Italy on May 7, 1918, and died on January 18, 2011. Danny, an accountant, would have turned 100 years old in June. He was born on June 1, 1921, in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, and died on December 28, 2012. They were married in 1947, having met in Italy where Danny had been an escaped prisoner-of-war.  (See our series on their lives at www.scross.co.za/tag/hyams-story/)

Their cause is quite special. In modern times, only one couple has been canonised: Ss  Louis and Zélie Martin, parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux, who were raised to the College of Saints by Pope Francis in 2015. Blesseds Luigi  (1880-1951) and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi (1884-1964) were beatified together in 2001.

What’s the current status of their sainthood cause?

The inquiry is the first official step in the process. But it’s not the beginning. It was preceded by a preliminary phase which served to determine whether there was enough evidence to pursue the cause for Domitilla and Danny. Even that part of the process required the permission of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Once the Vatican gave the go-ahead for the preliminary investigation, the pair could be referred to by the title “Servants of God”.

What does the inquiry phase involve?

The inquiry is the diocesan phase of the process. It will include formal interviews with different witnesses, study of any relevant documents (such as letters and diaries), and gathering of whatever evidence supports — or contradicts — the idea of their “heroic virtue”. That work alone can take several years, because the inquiry, a complicated process that requires a lot of work and paperwork, must be thorough and complete. There should also be signs that people are drawn to prayer by the example of the candidates. Once he is satisfied that nothing stands in the way of advancing the cause, the archbishop will submit his findings to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. That will begin the Roman phase of the cause.

What happens in Rome?

The sainthood congregation will scrutinise the evidence of the candidates’ holiness, work and signs of public devotion. Once it is satisfied that the cause may go ahead, the congregation will pass it on to the pope. If he decides that the candidates did indeed live a life of heroic virtue, the cause may continue and they will be called “Venerable”. Obviously, if the congregation or the pope finds that the cause has no virtue, it will stall.

And if it goes ahead?

Now the difficult part begins: a miracle attributed to the intercession of the candidates must be approved (unless the candidate is a martyr, like Bl Benedict Daswa, in which case that prerequisite is waived). A miracle is an event, usually a healing, that is spontaneous, scientifically and medically inexplicable, permanent, and believed to be due to the intercession of a Servant of God.

When a claimed miracle is reported, it is studied on a diocesan level, and if deemed credible, the evidence is passed on to the Vatican for investigation. The tests for a miracle are stringent, involving scientific and theological investigation, and interviews with the subject of the miracle. If it passes all the required tests, the findings are passed on to the pope who then decides whether the candidate may be beatified. If he gives the go-ahead, the person will be beatified in a ceremony and become known as a “Blessed”.

That is the stage where the sainthood cause for Bl Benedict Daswa currently is (see page 15). Beatification means that the person is now considered worthy of public veneration, with a feast day and the right to be named a patron of churches.

And canonisation?

That requires another miracle for which the same procedure as above applies. The pope has the right to waive the second miracle in special cases, as Pope Francis did in the case of St John XXIII.

If a miracle is approved, the final decision is the pope’s. If he decides to elevate the Blesseds to the canonised sainthood, he will preside over the canonisation. Should the cause for the Hyams reaches that point, they will be known as Saints Domitilla and Danny.

We may hope the day will come! What can I do?

In South Africa we have several causes underway, at various stages. There is the cause of Bl Benedict Tshimangadzo Daswa, of course. That one is the furthest along. Then there are Abbot Francis Pfanner, founder of Mariann-hill, and Sr Reinolda May, the visionary of Ngome, who are at different stages of investigation. And, of course, there’s the process for Domitilla and Danny Hyams.

If you are feeling drawn to these yet uncanonised saints, learn about them and their lives, and try to emulate their example where you can. Make their lives known to others who may likewise be drawn to prayer by their holy example. That’s the way devotions spread.

If you believe that you have received an extraordinary grace or favour through their intercession, tell the postulator.

And pray for these causes and those who are working to advance them.

For more information and updates on the Hyams cause, see hyamscause.org.za

This article was published in the June,2021 issue of The Southern Cross magazine

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