Next Steps From Venerable Kino to Blessed Kino and Then Saint Kino

Eusebio Francisco Kino, S.J. was recognized as venerable when his sainthood cause passed the 2nd of 4 steps in the cause for his recognition as a Roman Catholic saint. On 10 July 2020 Pope Francis recognized Kino's life as "heroic in virtue" which allows Kino to be called Venerable.

Kino by his lifetime defense of the rights & dignity of the Indigenous People of Northwest New Spain was called by Dr. Herbert Bolton a latter-day Bartolomé de las Casas - the First "Protector de Indios." Bolton was the father of the study of U.S. Spanish colonial history. Kino spoke truth to power in his defense of the O'odham people Mexico City to the highest officials after riding 1,500 miles in 53 days from Sonora. Kino personally presented his biography of good Padre Saeta who was murdered during outbreak by a faction of the O'odham people living in the Altar River Valley. Kino writes in his Father Saeta Biography that the "cause that has contributed to these deaths, riots and outbreaks has been the constant [Spanish] opposition to the Pimas which in turn has been founded on sinister suspicions and false testimony as well as on rash judgments because of which many unjust killings have been perpetrated in various parts of the Pimeria. ... The Pimas have been viciously and unjustly blamed for the thefts of the livestock and the plunder of the frontiers. ....it is evident that the treatment of the natives in the Pimeria has been very unjust — leading as it has to mistreatment, torture and murder."

Kino's cause for sainthood began immediately after his grave with his skeletal remains was discovered in today's Magdalena de Kino, Sonora in May 1966 by an international team of scholars and cronistas including archeologists and historians from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) (National Institute of Anthropology and History) and the Arizona State Museum and University of Arizona. The first stage of the sainthood investigation officially began with the Vatican in May 1972 in the local diocese where Kino died - the Archdiocese of Hermosillo. Based on the results of the Archdiocese's investigation, Kino was named a Servant of God by the Vatican in 1998 completing the first stage.

The Kino sainthood cause fulfilled the 2nd step toward canonization by the submission and approval of the first positio by the Pope and the Pope declaring Kino as Venerable.

The first positio ( Positio - "Super Vita, Virtutibus Et Fama Sanctitatis" or Statement On the Life, Virtue and Holy Reputation) is the written petition to the Vatican that contains a biography of Kino and the reasons for Kino's canonization. It was submitted to the Vatican in November 2016.

The first positio was over 750 pages. The positio did not include the over 150 pounds of supporting documentation that was considered before by the Vatican's historical documentation subcommittee. The documentation was delivered to the Vatican in 2006 by the Archdiocese of Hermosillo and the cabalgantes of Por Los Caminos de Kino. For over 30 years Por Los Caminos de Kino made annual cabalgatas (pilgrimages on horseback) in honor of Padre Kino and retraced Kino's horseback rides on trails in Sonora and Arizona.

After the Vatican investigated Kino's life for heroic virtue and reputation for sanctity and reviewed the positio, Pope Francis in July 2020 declared Kino as Venerable. The practical effect of Kino's cause fulfilling the venerable stage is that the Roman Catholic Church is formally recognizing Kino as "a saint on paper."

Now what remains only for Kino to be named a saint is the verification of two miracles caused by prayers made to Kino requesting his intercession. Another positio will be submitted to the Vatican  as verification of Kino's intercessory first miracle and if accepted by the Pope will result in Kino being named a blessed. The last step in the canonization process is the submission of additional positio as verification of the second intercessory miracle and if accepted by the Pope, Kino will be named a saint. Either miracle requirement can be waived by the Pope.

Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr.
Photographer Pablo Lopez

Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. on Padre Kino
Being Named Venerable By The Vatican

Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. in a television interview and new story about Padre Kino being named Venerable by the Vatican said "There's probably some mixed feelings among the O'odham... For me, it was a blessing to be able to see that that has happened." "It's going to be an even bigger blessing" [when Kino is named a saint.]  

Also interviewed is Kino sainthood promoter Fr. Vincente Lopez. The reporter is Paul Cicala for News 4 Tucson, KVOA TV.

The interview on August 11, 2020, took place at Mission San Xavier del Bac founded by Kino in 1692 and located in the O'odham community of Wa:c.

For 3 minute interview video with a transcript, click →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5wc3QrVYFQ

For KVOA TV news story, click →
https://www.kvoa.com/news/local/pope-could-visit-tucson-as-father-kino-approaches-sainthood/article_60a9ed26-4a80-5ae2-b620-c76ec97d4aa6.html

Transcript of KVOA News 4 Report on Kino Named Venerable by Pope Francis
August 11, 2020

POPE COULD VISIT TUCSON AS FATHER KINO APPROACHES SAINTHOOD
NEWS 4 TUCSON KVOA-TV
AUGUST 11, 2020

ANNOUNCER, KVOA TV NEWS 4:  We may get a visit from the Pope, if, and when, Father Kino becomes a saint. News Four Tucson’s Paul Cicala joins us with more.

PAUL CICALA, KVOA TV NEWS 4 REPORTER:  Father Eusebio Kino is widely known as the “patron Saint of the Borderlands” and he helped establish 21 missions in current day Sonora, Mexico and current day Arizona  - including the San Xavier del Bac Mission that was created back in 1692. And, now, he's just two steps away from sainthood.

NED NORRIS, CHAIRMAN OF THE TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION: There's probably some mixed feelings amongst the O'odham.

PAUL CICALA: Ned Norris, Chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, isn't surprised Father Eusebio Kino was recently declared a "venerable" by Pope Francis - moving him closer to canonization.

NED NORRIS: There was excitement. For me it was a blessing.

PAUL CICALA: The blessing embraced by thousands of Tohono O'odham Tribal members on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

(Man signing O’odham song in the background)

NED NORRIS: We had our own customs, our own traditions, our own culture, our own way that we saw -  speaking to the Creator and I’itoi, our creator.  And, then we have Father Kino coming to this region and establishing this beautiful church and converting many of the O'odham to Catholicism.

PAUL CICALA: Unlike many of the other missionaries in The Americas, Father Kino fought against laws imposed by Spain on its territory that exploited Native Americans to hard labor.

NED NORRIS: He wasn't one to take advantage in that way that other priests took advantage of the Native People.

PAUL CICALA: Father Vicente Lopez still conducts mass at the Eusebio-Kino-established church, San Ignacio, 120 miles from Tucson, near Magdalena, Sonora. He's not surprised Kino's legacy lives on, both south, and north of the border.

FATHER VICENTE LOPEZ, PRIEST AT KINO-ESTABLISHED MISSION SAN IGNACIO: Well everybody in Tucson and in Arizona is familiar with Father Kino. He's the founding father of Arizona. His statue is in the Rotunda of the [United States] capitol, And his statue is in the mall of the Phoenix - in front of the Phoenix [Arizona State] capitol. And, we in Tucson, particularly, have Kino Parkway, the statue of Kino on 15th Street and Kino Parkway, Kino Stadium, the old Kino Hospital. And we have San Xavier del Bac.

(Man signing O’odham song in the background)

 NED NORRIS: You know Paul, obviously if he came here, to this Mission, to this place where we know Father Kino helped establish this Mission, it would be such an enormous tribute and honor to my people, to the O'odham, for the Pope to have been able to do that, to come here.

PAUL CICALA: For more information on the steps involved for Father Eusebio Kino becoming a saint, please head to KVOA.com. Also we have a complete list of the missions that he founded here in the Sonoran Desert. We've got you covered, Paul Cicala, News 4 Tucson.

Sainthood Process - Great Video Explanation

How Does the Catholic Church Declare Official Saints?
bustedhalovideo 2014

This great 5 minute video accurately and simply describes the different ways that the Catholic Church officially declares someone a saint: the formal 4 step process and the equivalent canonization declaration by the Pope. 
Click
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUGRdpRJWYA

Venerable Kino's Next Roman Catholic Canonization Stages Are Blessed and Saint

"Kino is a chosen instrument of Our Lord ... in those missions."
Father General Tirso Gonzalez  1696

Your predecessor withdrew Father Kino from the missions; the missionary himself has written to me from Mexico City. He has been led to believe that he was summoned to report on the missions and to discuss with the Viceroy the means of reactivating the California enterprise. But the letters of your predecessor state that the real motive was to get him out of the missions and keep him in the Province.

If this is so, I cannot possibly approve such a decision, inasmuch as it deprives those missions of a most devoted worker who has toiled there with untiring zeal and boundless enthusiasm. Such has been his success that were he now employed at other tasks, he should be freed from them, and sent to the missions; so far am I from approving your withdrawing him from them!

Accordingly, Your Reverence will let him return without fail to the missions of the Pima Indians so that he can continue to work among them, unless the renewed entrance into California has received approval; in which case, he is to go there, taking with him the fellow missionaries he need for so wonderful an enterprise.

Now, I find two main charges against Father Kino; in fact, they are the only charges ever brought against him. The first is that, carried away by his enthusiasm and zeal, he is superficial in his work, hurrying as he does from one task to another. It is said that he baptizes the natives without  sufficient instruction in their obligations as Christians. If we consider how much Saint Francis Xavier attempted in such a short span of time, we must admit that saints use quite a different yardstick from the one applied with such caution by ordinary mortals; for them the might of God has no  limits. I am convinced that if superiors do point out some specific fault to Father Kino, he will amend it and follow their instructions.

The second charge brought against him is that he is excessively severe on his fellow workers.  Now, from the evidence which reaches us in Rome, this charge is utterly unfounded. First, because  no one has ever complained about him; secondly, because there is scarcely anyone in all the foreign  missions who speaks with greater deference and respect of other missionaries; nor does anyone ever  show greater kindness than Kino. Such evidence, then, utterly destroys any charge of harshness  towards his fellow workers.

Accordingly, Your Reverences will allow him to return to the missions. You will let him work there, inasmuch as 'the just man is not to be hemmed in by any law.' I am convinced that Kino is a chosen instrument of Our Lord for His cause in those missions.

Father Tirso Gonzalez
Father General of the Jesuit order
Letter to Jesuit Provincial of New Spain
Rome  July 28, 1696

Venerable Eusebio Francesco Chini (called Kino)
Decree of The Congregation for the Causes of Saints
July 10, 2020 

Decree in English

On 10 July 2020, the Holy Father Francis received His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the audience, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the same Congregation to promulgate the Decrees concerning:

The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Eusebio Francesco Chini (called Kino) , professed priest of the Society of Jesus; born on 10 August 1645 in Segno (Italy) and died in Magdalena (Mexico) on 15 March 1711.

The Servant of God Eusebio Francesco Chini (called “Kino) was born in Segn (Trento, Italy) on August 10, 1645, from a wealthy peasant family. At nine he met the Jesuit Martino Martini, a former missionary in China and known as a sinologist, cartographer and astronomer, who deeply involved him not only in the search for God, but also in the passion for geography and astronomy. In 1665, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Landsberg, Bavaria, and made his religious profession in 1667. He studied philosophy and mathematical sciences in Landsberg, Freiburg, Ingolstadt and Munich. From 1670 to 1673, he taught in Halle. After completing his theological studies, on 12 June 1677 he was ordained a priest in Eichstätt. It followed the third year of probation in Öttingen (today Altötting), at the end of which he asked to go to China to fulfill his vocational dream in the footsteps of Father Martino Martini. Instead, he was sent to Mexico where he arrived on May 3, 1681, after a three-year stay in Spain.

Arriving in Mexico City, he stayed there for two years of preparation. Subsequently, he evangelized Baja California, where he gained a deep knowledge of the indigenous population, who benefited from his teaching and techniques of raising livestock and some crops, and thanks to this contribution of the Servant of God he managed to defend himself from abuses of Spanish soldiers. During this first mission the Servant of God intervened convincingly and many times to defend the natives, their rights and their dignity, towards which his service was characterized by the denunciation and contestation of the abuse of the Spaniards, by the anxiety with which he sought them , from the patient to adapt to their condition, from his sincere respect and esteem for them. With his work he had the courage to defend human dignity and denounce the abuses of the Spanish military and settlers. In 1687 another missionary journey began in the Pimería Alta, a region between the Mexican region of Sonora and the southwestern part of Arizona. The Servant of God established excellent relations with the indigenous peoples, to the point that the colonists considered him their enemy because he defended the rights of the natives whom he considered as his proteges, "our brothers in Christ". He made thirty-six expeditions with territorial explorations, covering thousands of kilometers and following the paths marked by native peoples: this allowed him to draw up the first geographical maps of the region for a very large area. He organized 17 central mission stations and sixteen branches, founding 19 villages.

He died, at the age of 65, on March 15, 1711 in Magdalena, later called in his honor Magdalena de Kino (Mexico) and who is a pilgrimage destination for many natives, who still today recognize in the Servant of God their "great father".

The Servant of God lived the virtue of faith in a heroic way, nourishing his relationship with the Lord through an intense life of prayer, especially in night worship, the recitation of the breviary and the reading of the life of the Saints. He exercised the virtue of hope, trusting in divine Providence for the work of evangelization that he had to do. The heroic virtue of charity towards God and neighbor was manifested in intense missionary activity in a vast territory characterized by the complexity of political situations. His life was also characterized by the heroic exercise of poverty: everything was reduced to the essential. As the natives used, his bed consisted of two leathers, two rough blankets and the saddle of the horse for a pillow. He tried to live in everything like the natives, spending their energies and intellectual abilities to defend the dignity of indigenous people and promote their good. It was defined: column of the new Church, counselor and defender of the poor, example, model and soul for everyone he met.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints
July 10, 2020
Official English Translation

Venerable Eusebio Francesco Chini (called Kino)
Decree of The Congregation for the Causes of Saints
July 10, 2020 

Venerable Decree in Italian

Il 10 luglio 2020, il Santo Padre Francesco ha ricevuto in Udienza Sua Eminenza Reverendissima il Signor Cardinale Angelo Becciu, Prefetto della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi. Durante l’Udienza, il Sommo Pontefice ha autorizzato la medesima Congregazione a promulgare i Decreti riguardanti:

le virtù eroiche del Servo di Dio Eusebio Francesco Chini (detto Kino), Sacerdote professo della Compagnia di Gesù; nato il 10 agosto 1645 a Segno (Italia) e morto a Magdalena (Messico) il 15 marzo 1711.

Il Servo di Dio Eusebio Francesco Chini (detto “Kino) nacque a Segno (Trento, Italia) il 10 agosto 1645, da agiata famiglia contadina. A nove anni incontrò il gesuita Martino Martini, già missionario in Cina e noto come sinologo, cartografo e astronomo, che lo coinvolse profondamente non solo nella ricerca di Dio, ma pure nella passione verso la geografia e l’astronomia. Nel 1665, entrò nel noviziato gesuita di Landsberg, in Baviera, ed emise la professione religiosa nel 1667. Studiò filosofia e scienze matematiche a Landsberg, Friburgo, Ingolstadt e a Monaco. Dal 1670 al 1673, insegnò ad Halle. Dopo aver completato gli studi teologici, il 12 giugno 1677 fu ordinato presbitero a Eichstätt. Seguì il terz’anno di probazione a Öttingen (oggi Altötting), al termine del quale chiese di andare in Cina per realizzare il suo sogno vocazionale sulle orme di padre Martino Martini. Fu, invece, destinato in Messico dove giunse il 3 maggio 1681, dopo un triennio di soggiorno in Spagna.

Giunto a Città del Messico, vi rimase per due anni di preparazione. ** Successivamente, evangelizzò la Bassa California, dove conseguì una profonda conoscenza della popolazione indigena, la quale beneficò del suo l’insegnamento e delle tecniche di allevamento del bestiame e di alcune colture, e proprio grazie a questo contributo del Servo di Dio riuscì a difendersi dai soprusi dei soldati spagnoli. Durante questa prima missione il Servo di Dio intervenne convintamente e molte volte a difesa dei nativi, dei loro diritti e della loro dignità, verso i quali il suo servizio si caratterizzò dalla denuncia e contestazione degli abusi degli spagnoli, dall’ansia con cui li cercava, dal paziente adeguarsi alla loro condizione, dal suo sincero rispetto e dalla stima per loro. Con il suo operato ebbe coraggio di difendere la dignità umana e denunciare i soprusi dei militari e dei coloni spagnoli. Nel 1687 iniziò un altro viaggio missionario nella Pimería Alta, una regione compresa tra la regione messicana di Sonora e la parte sud occidentale dell’Arizona. Il Servo di Dio stabilì ottime relazioni con le popolazioni indigene, al punto che i coloni lo considerarono loro nemico perché difensore dei diritti dei nativi che considerava come suoi protetti, “i nostri fratelli in Cristo”. Fece trentasei spedizioni con esplorazioni territoriali, percorrendo migliaia di chilometri e seguendo i sentieri segnati dai popoli nativi: questo gli permise di redigere le prime carte geografiche della regione per un’area vastissima. Organizzò 17 stazioni centrali di missione e sedici succursali, fondando 19 villaggi. Nel 1703 fu nominato procuratore delle missioni del nordovest.

Morì, all’età di 65 anni, il 15 marzo 1711 a Magdalena, successivamente chiamata in suo onore Magdalena de Kino (Messico) e che è meta di pellegrinaggio di tanti nativi, i quali ancora oggi riconoscono nel Servo di Dio il loro “grande padre”.

Il Servo di Dio visse la virtù della fede in maniera eroica, nutrendo il proprio rapporto con il Signore attraverso un’intensa vita di preghiera, soprattutto nell’adorazione notturna, la recita del breviario e la lettura della vita dei Santi. Esercitò la virtù della speranza, confidando nella Provvidenza divina per l’opera di evangelizzazione che doveva compiere. La virtù eroica della carità verso Dio e il prossimo si manifestò nell’intensa attività missionaria in un vasto territorio, caratterizzato dalla complessità delle situazioni politiche. La sua vita fu caratterizzata anche dall’esercizio eroico della povertà: tutto era ridotto all’essenziale. Come usavano i nativi, il suo letto era composto da due pelli, due coperte grezze e la sella del cavallo per cuscino. Cercò di vivere in tutto come i nativi, spendendo le proprie energie e le capacità intellettuali per difendere la dignità degli indigeni e promuovere il loro bene. Fu definito: colonna della nuova Chiesa, consigliere e difensore dei poveri, esempio, modello e anima per tutti coloro che incontrava.

Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi
Decreto Vaticano che nomina Kino Venerable
10 luglio 2020
Official Decree in Italian

For Decree in Italian and English online
Click
https://www.causesanti.va/it/venerabili/eusebio-francesco-chini-detto-kino.html

Submittal of Diocesean Petition & Evidence to Vatican
Fr. Luis Sinohui, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Hermosillo; Jesús Enrique Salgado, President, Por Los Caminos de Kino & Fundación Kino; Archbishop Ulises Macías, Archdiocese of Hermosillo; Fr. Germán Orozco, Diocese of Mexicali
May 4, 2006

The effort to elevate one of Tucson’s most important historic figures to Catholic sainthood has taken a major step forward, supporters of the canonization of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino say.

One hundred and thirty pounds of documents that support Kino’s beatification — the second to last step toward sainthood — were presented to the Congregation of Rites in Rome on May 4, said Paolo Rossi of the Associazione Culturale Padre Eusebio F. Chini in the village of Segno, Italy, where Kino was born. Chini was Father Kino’s birth name.

"People seem to be relieved that the papers are now in Rome," Rossi said.

Supporters have no idea when an announcement about Kino’s beatification will be made, he said. The final step after beatification is canonization, or elevation to sainthood, and Rossi said supporters are hopeful that will happen by the 300th anniversary of Kino’s death, in 2011.

The impetus for the canonization of the Jesuit priest, whose likeness sits on horseback at 15th Street and Kino Parkway, is coming primarily from Italy and Hermosillo, Rossi said. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson also is supporting the cause.

An ardent Kino supporter in Tucson, the Rev. Charles Polzer, died unexpectedly in 2003. Polzer was a retired curator of ethno-history at Arizona State Museum and had worked on the effort to declare Kino a saint since the 1960s.

It was Kino’s work in the Sonoran Desert that qualifies him for sainthood, Rossi stressed. Kino is credited with bringing Christianity to the area. Today, about 27 percent of Tucson’s population is Catholic.

Kino founded or started 21 missions in the Pimeria Alta, or the land of the upper Pimas, in Northern Sonora and Southern Arizona in the late 1600s and early 1700s in an attempt to turn American Indians in the area to Christianity. The missions include those at San Xavier, Tumacácori and Guevavi.

Kino also introduced cattle and new crops to the region. In 1700, he put down the foundations for a church at the village of Bac, on the Santa Cruz River near modern Tucson, to be named after his patron saint, St. Francis Xavier.

Kino’s dream of a church here later was realized by Franciscans and Tohono O’odham Indians, who built the stunning structure of San Xavier del Bac. It remains an active church, recently restored, at the site of the northernmost post on Kino’s mission circuit.

The committee to declare Kino a saint formally began its work after a skeleton identified as Kino’s was discovered in 1966 in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, 50 miles south of Nogales.

In 1967, the process began with Carlos Quintero-Arce, archbishop of Hermosillo, Sonora, who retired in the late 1990s. The current archbishop of Hermosillo, José Ulises Macías Salcedo, has continued the work by constituting a tribunal that includes Quintero-Arce and several priests in the Archdiocese of Hermosillo to make a formal case for beatification.

Though many missionaries who converted indigenous populations to Christianity have been criticized, Polzer told the Star in 2000 that Kino always resisted Spanish military policy toward American Indians and dealt with all people respectfully, never exploiting them.

Indeed, members of the Tohono O’odham Nation continue to make pilgrimages to Kino’s gravesite in Magdalena de Kino each fall, and until the early 1990s the tribe held re-enactments of Kino’s arrival in the Sonoran Desert. About 85 percent of the tribe is Catholic.

A possible stumbling block to Kino’s canonization may be that the Vatican requires evidence of two miracles linked to the person’s intervention before sainthood can be approved, Rossi said. But he said supporters remain faithful.

"One of the things Father Polzer always said is it’s a miracle his memory is being kept alive after so many years," Rossi said.

Stephanie Innes
"Sainthood for Father Kino Gets Major Advance"
Arizona Daily Star
May 18, 2006