Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich was a nun for two short years but managed to leave a legacy great enough that she is now one step away from sainthood.
The NJ native was celebrated in a beatification ceremony Saturday at Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. This ceremony is the first of its kind to be performed on US soil, despite four other Americans in line to be vetted by the Vatican.
Sister Demjanovich, the youngest of seven to Slovakian emigrants, joined the Sisters of Charity in Convent Station, NJ. Her writings and meditations lay the basis for her cause for sainthood; these writings have been studied by scholars and sent to Rome for review, as well as championed by many of her supporters.
In order to merit beautification, proof of one posthumous miracle must be provided. The case of Mr. Michael Mencer, a young boy in 1964, vouches for this miracle: plagued with juvenile macular degeneration (eye-sight deterioration for youths), Mr. Merced received Sister Demjanovich’s writings and a relic from a teacher. Soon thereafter, he regained his eyesight, a medical improbability that a board of doctors claimed “medically unexplainable.”
Only 12 US citizens have been beautified and only three of those have been canonized (ordained to sainthood.) This ceremony, symbolic for the people of Newark and many church members, brings Sister Demjanovich one step closer to her sainthood.
Sources:
Smith, Tim. NJ Nun Moves Closer to Sainthood. Wall Street Journal