St. Pope Paul VI: What Makes Him a Saint?

Today is the feast of St. Pope Paul VI, who served as pope from 1963 until his death in 1978. Paul VI did many wonderful things to invigorate life in the Church. Below I muse upon his works written during the time of his papacy.

Paul VI wrote the encyclical Humanae vitae (On Human Life), which reiterated the Church’s stance on the immorality of contraception and that humankind must always be open to the gift of life. He had to have known the wrath that he would face for publishing such a letter!

As a result, Paul VI is known to have suffered silently during this time. He was courageous. This encyclical came out in 1968, during the time of the sexual revolution. It was extremely contrary to what was going on in the world. But Paul VI endured and stood firm behind the teaching that children are not burdens, but gifts from God, and that God’s dominion is over every aspect of human life.

Paul VI made predictions about what birth control would do to our society and they came true! Contraception has led to moral decline and denigration of human life, increase in abortion, disrespect and objectification of women, adultery, abuse of power by the government, and the perception that humans may do as they wish with their bodies and “play God” by determining when and when not to be open to new life.

Becoming a canonized saint in the Catholic Church requires that 2 miracles be attributed to the person being considered for sainthood (unless the person was a martyr; then the Church only needs 1). Remarkably, the 2 miracles accredited to Paul VI BOTH included the healing of unborn babies. Needless to say, Paul VI is a wonderful saint to ask for intercession to end abortion or for the health of an unborn baby and his/her mother.

Not unrelated is Paul IV’s commitment to the poor. He wrote the encyclical Populorum progressio (The Progress of Peoples) which addresses Catholic Social Teaching and the need to recognize the needs of every nation by using a human, holistic approach. Such an approach calls for solidarity with the poor, which enables the poor to grow into who God made them to be and to participate well in God’s good work on earth. Here is 1 quote from the beginning of Populorum progressio that I appreciate:

“The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance. And the Church, cut to the quick by this cry, asks each and every man to hear his brother's plea and answer it lovingly,” (3).

Here are a few other things that make Paul VI a saint. While he did not open Vatican II (St. John XXIII did), he did shepherd of the Church until the end of the council. During this time, he balanced the need for the Church to adapt to modernity while also upholding Church teachings and traditions.

He played an essential role in teaching the Church to evangelize, especially through his apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World). (Evangelization is the proclamation of Christ and his Gospel by word and the testimony of life, in fulfillment of Christ’s command, (Catechism, 905).) He emphasized and encouraged Catholics to stand behind the moral teachings of the Church, which were, and are, under attack. Here is something I think is important that Paul VI had to say about evangelization:

“Evangelizing is, in fact, the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of his death and glorious resurrection,” (Evangelii nuntiandi, 14).

Elsewhere, Paul VI said: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses,” (Address to the Members of the Consilium de Laicis).

What makes Paul VI a saint, then? He was heroically virtuous. Even when faced with harsh criticism and resistance from even those within the Church, he listened to his conscience and preached the truth about mankind's nature. His courage serves as a model for us when we are faced with opposition. Paul VI showed charity towards the poor and taught that we will not have peace until we have justice for all. He suffered in solitude for the good of the Church and is an exemplary model for us to persevere in faithfulness to Christ.

St. Paul VI, pray for us.

“Of all human activities, man’s listening to God is the supreme act of his reasoning and will.”