Mar Ivanios declared “Servant of God”

The first of the four steps towards canonisation of Late Archbishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, the first Metropolitan and Archbishop of the Malankara Catholic Church and founder of the Order of Bethany Sisters, was made on Saturday with his being named ‘Servant of God’.

Catholicos Baselios Mar Cleemis made the declaration at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom, here at a Holy Mass held in the morning to mark the 54th Remembrance Day of the late Archbishop. Hundreds of people, including scores of priests and nuns, were present at the cathedral to witness the historic moment in the history of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Thiruvalla Archbishop Thomas Mar Koorilos, Bishops Geevarghese Mar Divanyasios, Yuhanon Mar Chrysostom, Joshua Mar Ignathios and Apostolic Visitator of missions outside Kerala Jacob Mar Barnabas were present at the mass and concelebration to mark the occasion. The Catholicos also received the rallies of the devout that reached the cathedral from the dioceses of Ranni, Perumattil, Thiruvalla, Marthandam and Mavelikkara earlier in the morning as part of the celebration.

Steps to Sainthood.

After attaining the status of the “Servant of God”, there are three more steps to finally attain Sainthood.

1) A postulator (a church official who coordinates the process and serves as an advocate) must demonstrate the Mar Ivanios lived by heroic Christian virtues. Documents and testimony are collected and presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. If approved by that panel and the pope, the Late Archbishop Mar Ivanios will earn the title ”Venerable.”

2) Faithful can now pray to Late Archbishop Mar Ivanios, asking for help in delivering messages to God. Answered prayers can be attributed to Mar Ivanios’ advocacy, or intercession. If the postulator  can prove that Mar Ivanios’s intercession helped a living person receive a miracle from God, the Pope can declare the late Archbishop, ”Blessed.”

3) After a second miracle is attributed to Mar Ivanios’ intercession, the Pope can declare him to be a saint, with the final step called “Canonization”.