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RALEIGH — The diocesan phase for the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of Father Thomas Frederick Price was opened March 9 with the official installation of a tribunal that will begin the formal study of the life, virtues and the reputation of the sanctity of the North Carolina priest known as the “Tarheel Apostle.”

The opening of the diocesan phase of the cause took place within the context of solemn vespers at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh.

To emphasize support for the cause beyond the Diocese of Raleigh, Bishop Peter Jugis attended the installation and stated, “Father Price’s missionary zeal is a great inspiration for us today as we dedicate ourselves to the New Evangelization of our modern society.”

The tribunal to study Father Price will be led by the Very Reverend James F. Garneau, pastor of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Mount Olive, whom Raleigh Bishop Michael Burbidge has appointed episcopal delegate for the Cause of Father Price. The tribunal also includes Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, appointed by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints as postulator of the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of Father Price, and other members, assisted by a historical commission and a theological commission.

Pictured above: Raleigh Bishop Michael F. Burbidge signs the Edict for the Opening of the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of Father Thomas F. Price. It was also signed and notarized by Rev. Msgr. David D. Brockman, vicar general of the Raleigh diocese (right). (Photo provided by the Diocese of Raleigh)

As part of the diocesan phase of the Cause, Bishop Burbidge signed an edict for the Opening of the Cause for Beatification and Canonization for Father Price. It requests that all those who can give valid testimony regarding the life, virtues and the reputation of the sanctity of Father Price, even if they have negative proof, are to contact the tribunal. They may do so by contacting Father Garneau at the Office of the Episcopal Delegate for the Cause of Father Price, P.O. Box 1145, Mount Olive, N.C. 28365.

The Cause for Beatification and Canonization of Father Price was originally introduced in the Archdiocese of Hong Kong, where Father Price died. The transfer of the Cause to the Archdiocese of New York was approved by the Vatican in 1992. In 2011, then-Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Bishop Burbidge agreed the Cause for Father Price would best be carried out in the Raleigh diocese – the home diocese of Father Price and where he was born and lived most of his life.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect for the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accepted their recommendation to transfer the cause to the Diocese of Raleigh.

Born on Aug.19, 1860, in Wilmington, Father Price was the first native North Carolinian to be ordained to the priesthood. In the midst of his extensive 25 years of missionary work throughout the state, Father Price developed an interest in dedicating his priestly ministry to the foreign missions of the Church. In 1911, together with Father James A. Walsh, Father Price founded the Congregation of Maryknoll. In 1918, he accompanied the first group of Maryknoll missionaries, who were sent for ministry in China. Shortly after his arrival in China, in September 1919, Father Price died following a brief illness.

Among those joining Bishop Burbidge for the celebration of solemn vespers and the opening of the Cause was Bishop Peter J. Jugis; Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey; Father Edward M. Dougherty, superior general of the Maryknoll Catholic Foreign Mission Society; Reverend Monsignor David D. Brockman, vicar general of the Diocese of Raleigh; the Very Reverend James F. Garneau, episcopal delegate for the Cause of Father Price; and Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, postulator of the Cause of Father Price.

— Diocese of Raleigh

More online

Read more about the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of Father Thomas Price online at www.dioceseofraleigh.org.

Read the Edict for the Opening of the Cause online at www.dioceseofraleigh.org/docs/news/Edict-for-Opening-of-Cause-FrPrice.pdf.