The Archdiocese of Guadalajara, in Mexico, opened on October 6 the diocesan phase of the beatification and canonization cause of the Spanish Capuchin priest Ignacio Larrañaga Orbegozo, founder of the Workshops of Prayer and Life, an initiative of formation in prayer that has spread to numerous countries.
The opening of the process took place at the archdiocesan curia, after receiving the nihil obstat from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and the corresponding decree from Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega, Archbishop of Guadalajara.
The ceremony was presided over by Auxiliary Bishop Juan Manuel Muñoz Curiel, representing the Archbishop, and was attended by members of the tribunal in charge of the investigation.
The investigation will begin with 50 witnesses from ten countries
During the event, the diocesan postulator, Monsignor Óscar Sánchez Barba, presented an initial list of 50 witnesses from ten countries, as well as 47 books and pamphlets written by Larrañaga and other documents related to his career.
The tribunal must gather the testimonies and examine the documentation on the life, virtues, and reputation of sanctity of the religious. Once this phase is completed, the results will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome.
The cause is being conducted in Guadalajara because it was in this archdiocese that Larrañaga died on October 28, 2013, at the age of 85.
A life dedicated to prayer and spiritual formation
Ignacio Larrañaga was born on May 4, 1928, in Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa. At the age of twelve, he entered the Capuchin seminary in Alsasua, Navarra, and was ordained a priest in 1952.
He carried out much of his ministry in Latin America, where he promoted spiritual formation initiatives aimed especially at the laity.
In 1984, he founded the Workshops of Prayer and Life in Chile, a method of progressive learning of prayer that combines the reading of Sacred Scripture, meditation, various forms of prayer, and exercises to apply its teachings to daily life.
The initiative later spread to numerous countries and received the approval of the Holy See in 1997.
Larrañaga was also the author of several works on spirituality, including Show Me Your Face, The Silence of Mary, and From Suffering to Peace.
The cause is currently in its diocesan phase, during which testimonies and documentation on the life and virtues of the religious will be collected. Once the investigation is completed, the records will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which will continue the examination of the process in Rome.