Edmund Ignatius Rice - Beatification and Legacy

Beatification and Legacy

The first attempt to introduce Rice's cause to sainthood was in 1911 by Brother Mark Hill who travelled Waterford and other parts of Ireland collecting statements from people as to why they thought Rice should be made a saint, but very little progress was made. The cause was taken up by Pius Noonan, who was the superior general at the time. With the help of Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Pope Paul VI), the cause was officially opened in Dublin in 1957.

In 1976 the Historical Commission of the Dublin Archdiocese recommended that Rice's cause be brought to Rome, and the Holy See agreed to look into it. Three brothers had the burden of investigating archives and collecting evidence as to why Rice should be declared a saint: Mark Hill, David Fitzpatrick and Columba Normoyle.

As a result of these investigations and the examination in Rome of the results, on April 2, 1993, Pope John Paul II approved the pursual of the Roman phase of the cause, declaring Edmund Rice to be venerable. Two years later, the same Pope approved a miracle attributed to Edmund Rice's intercession. The miracle occurred in 1976, when Kevin Ellison of Newry, had been given only 48 hours to live due to complications from a gangrenous colon, and an apparent lack of viable colon tissue (a conclusion reached by five doctors after hours in surgery). A family friend, Christian Brother Laserian O'Donnell, gave Ellison's parents a relic of Edmund Rice. Many friends prayed for a miracle through the intercession of Rice and a special Mass was offered for Ellison's recovery. Only the relic of Edmund Rice was placed at the bedside of the dying man. The latter survived the 48 hour period during which he was supposed to die, and more besides. Upon investigation, surgeons discovered a considerable length of previously undetected colon. Ellison fully recovered after a few weeks.

These events paved the way for Rice's beatification on October 6, 1996 and he become known as Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice. His official feast day is May 5.