Christians in Arua Diocese start pilgrimage and prayers for beatification of Venerable Bernardo Sartori

By Godwin Abedican

Arua

The catholic faithful in Arua Diocese have embarked on making pilgrimages and special prayers for miracles to happen such that Venerable Bernardo Sartori can be canonized to become a saint. The pilgrimages that will be taking place at the burial site of the late Venerable Sartori, in Ombaci cemetery, Ombaci parish will be for Christians across the diocese and beyond to make personal prayers towards the above purpose.

Born on 25th May 1897, Venerable Bernardo Sartori, a Comboni Missionary died on April 3rd 1983, in Ombaci parish where he was working as a priest after serving  in Arua Diocese from 1934 to 1983. On 13th December, 2021, The Holy Father Pope Francis publicized a decree regarding the heroic virtues of Servant of God Bernardo Sartori, thereby proclaiming a Venerable. Christ the king parishioners in Arua city on Thursday 9th march 2023, had the first ever pilgrim by a parish to Ombaci to mark the start of pilgrimages to his burial site.

According to Ajobe Philip the Central Organizing Committee chairperson for the pilgrimage by Christ the King parish, as a parish they see it necessary to have pilgrimages and special programs to pray for the process of canonization of Venerable Sartori. “The Vatican has given us privilege to offer more prayers so that Sartori can become a saint. As a parish we sat down to organize for the pilgrimage as a beginning and if all goes well, we are going to receive the first saint in our diocese. Otherwise we request everybody to join hands to pray together with the Christians of Arua diocese and Christ the King particularly so that our prayers can reach God and together with the Angels such that our father becomes a saint,” Ajobe said.      
During his time of service, Venerable Bernardo Sartori worked in Koboko, Otumbari, Lodonga and Arivu among others, with his last work place being in Ombaci where he served till his death. Eyotaru Josephine Bakhita a Christian in the diocese who was baptized by Venerable Sartori while still a child still holds fond memories of him. She asserts that, Venerable Sartori was a good, welcoming priest being a missionary, he loved children so much. “I was born in 1984, that’s the time when Fr. Bernardo Sartori was still there, I was baptized from Ombaci parish, he baptized me and those are some of the things I remember him for,” Eyotaru said. “Even during the time of war, he was the one who was giving us clothing and food not until we left the mission and went to our various homes but still he could come. Unfortunately when he died I didn’t attend his burial but as a Christian, I will also remember him for his love of mother Mary you would always see him with the rosary and in his encounter he loved children so much. During our childhood he would cloth children when he found them naked and he paid school fees for many and gave what I saw him doing, his life and his spirituality, he is worthy to be a Saint and I pray as a Christian that he will be canonized,” Eyotaru narrated.

Hon. Kasiano Wadri Ezati, the former Member of Parliament for Terego County in the then Arua district and later Member of Parliament for Arua municipality studied in the seminary when Venerable Sartori was still a priest. According to him, it’s befitting for Venerable Sartori to be canonized. “I felt duty bound to join other Christians of Christ the king parish to make this solemn pilgrimage to Ombaci. When I was a young boy in the seminary, he together with Fr. Piffer Italo, were serving as priests in Otumbari and later in Arivu. This to us as believers gives us an encouragement in our faith that a person whom we saw, who worked among us, a person whom we lived with, a person with whom we prayed, a person with whom we worked as Christians is being turned into a Saint. This is a very big achievement for us as Catholics” Wadri explained. He adds that, All these four processes that are to be fulfilled for him to become a saint can only be fulfilled with the involvement of the Christians through prayers with the hope that all these prayers that the catholic laity and faithful are making in their personal homes, in their churches and taking trouble to come and pray at his grave yard will finally give us a green light to having him canonized and be made a saint. Lina Tindaru Dramadri a retired nurse who took part in the pilgrimage says al she needs from Sartori is that he should pray for her because of the little faith she feels she has. “I want to give thanks to God for having given me time to stay on this earth. There is nothing big I did to him but I only want to thank him so that through the virtues that Fr. Bernardo followed, and showed to the Christians, we may all try to follow him and have a peaceful life in this world and in the next world and that’s why we have come up to Ombaci, she said.      

Rev. Fr. Pius Yobuta, the Parish priest of Christ the King Parish says their main aim as a parish is to organize more pilgrimages such that Christians can pray for his beatification to God to show miracles to occur thorough Sartori that can be proved to be genuine in the life of the church so that his status is raised up towards beatification and eventual canonization. Venerable Bernardo Sartori now awaits the stage of beatification that precedes canonization. When a person is beatified, it means that they are in Heaven, and that they are in a position to plead to the Lord on behalf of others, should they beseech him.

How does someone become a saint?
Step one: Wait five years
The process to make someone a saint cannot normally start until at least five years after their death.
This is to allow time for emotions following the death to calm down, and to ensure that the individual's case can be evaluated objectively.
Some have to wait a long time before they reach Catholic sainthood.  The waiting period can, however, be waived by the Pope.
Step Two: Become a 'servant of God'
Once the five years are up, or a waiver is granted, the bishop of the diocese where the person died can open an investigation into the life of the individual, to see whether they lived their lives with sufficient holiness and virtue to be considered for sainthood.
Other religious groups in the diocese can also ask the bishop to open the investigation.
Evidence is gathered on the persons' life and deeds, including witness testimonies.
If there is sufficient evidence, the bishop asks the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the department that makes recommendations to the Pope on saints, for permission to open the case.
Once the case is accepted for consideration, the individual can be called a "servant of God".
Step Three: Show proof of a life of 'heroic virtue'
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints scrutinizes the evidence of the candidate's holiness, work and signs that people have been drawn to prayer through their example.
If the Congregation approves the case, it is passed to the Pope.
If the Pope decides that the person lived a life of "heroic virtue", they can then be called "Venerable".

Step Four: Verified miracles
To reach the next stage, beatification, a miracle needs to be attributed to prayers made to the individual after their death.
The prayers being granted are seen as proof that the individual is already in heaven, and hence able to intercede with God on others' behalf.
Incidents need to be "verified" by evidence before they are accepted as miracles.  After beatification, the candidate is given the title "blessed".
There is one exception to the miracle requirement – a martyr, someone who died for their faith, can be beatified without a verified miracle.

Step Five: Canonization
Canonization ceremonies involve a special Mass that recounts the individual's life history
Canonization is the final step in declaring a deceased person a saint. To reach this stage, a second miracle normally needs to be attributed to prayers made to the candidate after they have been beatified.
During the canonization ceremony, the Pope conducts a special Mass, reading aloud the individual's life history and then chanting a prayer in Latin that declares the person a saint.