THE CAUSE

June 4, 2025, Menlo Park, California: The nation’s first Sainthood Center to open at Northern California Seminary and University

The nation’s first-of-its-kind Center for Sainthood Studies—aimed at providing a roadmap for the challenging journey of advancing candidates for canonization and increasing American odds for such honor—is being established at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, California.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone signed off on the groundbreaking initiative in an April 14 decree, which described a key goal as “fostering a deeper understanding of the processes involved in recognizing the holiness of individuals and their potential for sainthood.”

The Center will house relics and other archival materials; provide resources; present networking opportunities; and offer a critical six-day course.

The inaugural course, open to interested clergy, religious and laity, will be held Feb. 16–21, 2026, at the scenic Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park.

Participants will earn an official certificate at the completion of the intensive program, designed by Dr. Emanuele Spedicato and Dr. Waldery Hilgeman, two esteemed postulators and canon law experts from Rome with extensive experience in presenting cases for sainthood.

“This is something new in the Catholic Church in America, and I believe it will help open the door to more sainthood causes nationwide,” said Michael McDevitt, who spent decades promoting the cause of Cora Evans, an American housewife and convert from Mormonism whose case has concluded U.S. inspections, investigations and inquiries and is now in the hands of the Vatican.

“We know firsthand the challenges faced with starting a cause and faced with the daunting complexities of the process. This is a resource designed to guide participants through the rigorous sainthood application and navigate the diocesan canonical procedures efficiently and effectively,” said McDevitt.