Title XXV: Of the Process of Beatification of Servants of God by the Way of Cult or an Excepted Case

§ 1. For Servants of God who after the pontificate of Alexander III and before the time fixed by the Urbanian constitution had cult by tolerance, positive approval of the Roman Pontiff can be petitioned.

§ 2. But for this a process according to the norm of the canons which follow is required.

The Ordinary competent to instruct this process is the Ordinary of the place where cult is offered or documents of cult are found, with the right of prevention preserved if there are several Ordinaries of this kind.

At the prayers of the postulator the Ordinary must:

1° Search out the writings of the Servant of God.

2° Instruct a process concerning the fame of sanctity of life, virtues or martyrdom, and miracles, by which response is made to the questions: whether in the place there is constant and common fame and persuasion concerning the holy life on earth of the Servant of God or concerning his martyrdom and the cause of martyrdom and also concerning miracles performed at his intercession; whether in the same place at present the cult of the Servant of God himself flourishes and by what observances the Servant of God is honored.

All these things having been transmitted to the Sacred Congregation according to the norm of can. 2061-2063, the doubt: Whether the commission of introduction of the cause is to be signed, is subjected to the discussion of the Cardinal Fathers in ordinary congregation, with the Cardinal Ponens reporting.

Once the commission has been signed, remissorial letters are to be dispatched to the men designated by the Sacred Congregation itself, so that the apostolic process may be instructed according to the path of law concerning the excepted case and a sentence may be rendered by the delegated judge.

From the process there must be proved both the beginning of the cult and its uninterrupted continuation up to the sentence of the delegated judge.

Once the process has been transmitted to the Sacred Congregation and opened, and the position has been prepared by the advocate of the cause with the observations of the Promoter General of the Faith and the responses of the patron himself, in ordinary congregation the doubt is to be proposed: Whether the sentence of the delegated judge is to be confirmed, or whether it is so established concerning the excepted case that one can proceed to further matters.

Confirmation of the sentence of the delegated judge on the part of the Roman Pontiff has only this force: that it proves the fact of immemorial cult offered to the Servant of God and persevering up to the sentence.

If the sentence concerning the excepted case has been favorable and approved by the Supreme Pontiff, remissorial letters are to be dispatched for preparing a process concerning virtues or concerning martyrdom and its cause according to the diversity of causes; and the prescriptions of can. 2087-2115 are to be observed.

Once the decree concerning the fact of immemorial cult and concerning heroicness of virtues or martyrdom has been issued, the Servant of God is to be held equivalently beatified, if confirmation of the same cult by decree of the Roman Pontiff has acceded.

To Servants of God equivalently beatified there can be granted the same acts of public cult by which the formally beatified are accustomed to be honored.