WORCESTER, Mass. (OSV News) – This fall the Vatican paved the way for the Worcester Diocese to begin the cause for the potential canonization of a local Catholic – Ruth V. K. Pakaluk. Ruth, a wife and mother from St. Paul Cathedral, was also known as an energetic, effective pro-life activist. She died at age 41 in 1998 after a long battle with cancer. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, sent a letter in Latin to Bishop Robert J. McManus, dated Sept. 29, stating that nothing stands in the way of the Worcester Diocese moving forward on the cause. Ruth can now be called a Servant of God, a title given to a sainthood candidate when a cause is formally established. Michael Pakaluk, currently a professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, married Ruth when they were college students and they had seven children. He said he had prayed for the cause for her canonization to open, adding “I’ve always been happy to cooperate” with anyone pursuing it. He said he views it in relationship to the Second Vatican Council, which set forth a pattern of holiness for laypeople. Ruth corresponded to that as a wife, mother, friend and citizen, he said.

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