Founder of Knights of Columbus in PH on path to sainthood

THE ARCHDIOCESE of Manila is set to formally open the Diocesan Process of the Cause of Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ, founder of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines, on Dec. 7.

According to “Sanctorum Mater,” or the Instruction for the Conducting Diocesan or Eparchial Inquiries in the Causes of Saints, the diocesan process is the first step before a deceased Catholic who is proven to have lived a life of holiness and heroic virtue can be considered for beatification and eventual canonization.

The process allows the bishop in whose diocese the candidate for sainthood lived and died—in this case Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and the Archdiocese of Manila—to evaluate the documentation collected and presented by his or her postulator, and ensure that the reputation of holiness or martyrdom and of intercessory power exist, according to a post on Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines News.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr., who chairs the National Executive Committee on the Cause of Father Willmann, noted in a letter that the “historic and momentous occasion” will mark an important milestone for the cause to raise the naturalized Filipino Jesuit to the Honor of the Altar.

Dubbed the “Fr. McGivney of the Philippines” for his dedication to expanding the Knights of Columbus locally, Willmann worked for the radical transformation of faith into action.

Born on June 29, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York, the American Jesuit was granted Philippine citizenship by President Ferdinand E. Marcos through Presidential Decree No. 740.

In 1938, Willmann served as chaplain of the Knights of Columbus Manila Council 1000, then returned in 1954 to become the order’s first Philippine deputy until his death in 1977.

In all, Willmann spent 44 years in the Philippines serving the poor, sick, orphans, oppressed and desolate, especially the young ones.

The diocesan process of the cause of Willmann will be opened with a 9 a.m. Mass to be presided over by Tagle at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.

Others members of the clergy expected to grace the event are Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, Imus Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista and Msgr. Pedro Quitorio.