Did a miracle occur in the Knoxville area through the intercession of a deceased priest?
Bishop Richard F. Stika of the Knoxville Diocese has officially launched an inquiry to determine that. If it's proven, it could increase the chances of that Catholic priest becoming a saint.
While no details about the miracle can be released because of a decree by the Catholic church, we know the inquiry centers on Father Isaac Hecker, an American Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Paulist Fathers, a North American religious society of men. Father Hecker died in 1888. His case for sainthood was opened in 2008.
"The inquiry is highly unusual and is the first time any kind of Catholic religious miracle has been investigated in the Diocese of Knoxville," according to a press release from the Diocese.
Bishop Stika has appointed four members and officers for the diocesan inquiry, including Justin Cardinal Rigali, the former Archbishop of St. Louis and Philadelphia.
Father Hecker is now known as a Servant of God in the Catholic Church, the first step in the process of canonization. The next step, beatification, requires a miracle that has resulted from prayers to the candidate and the candidate's subsequent intercession.
If the miracle has been declared authentic, the candidate is given the title Blessed. Canonization requires an additional miracle, one that can be attributed to the intercession of the Blessed after beatification.
