Let us continue with our systematic, chronological look at the sainthood “pipeline” and decisions made by Pope Francis in late 2018, 2019, and January through May 2020 with respect to the recognition of martyrdom, miracles, and heroic virtues.

• Nov. 8, 2018: 24 people, 11 of whom were martyrs. Of the 13 non-martyrs, 10 were bishops, priests (two of them diocesan; one of the two a founder) or religious; three of them were founders. There were three laypersons; none ever married: Edvige Carboni (1880-1952) was a mystic; Benedetta Bianchi Porro (1936-1964) became ill as a teenager; and Lodovico Coccapani (1849-1931).
• Dec. 22, 2018: 12 people, one of whom was a martyr. Of the non-martyrs, 10 were a bishop, priests (two of them diocesan founders) or religious; five of them were founders. There were no members of the laity.
• Jan. 15, 2019: 17 people, 14 of whom were martyrs. Two of the three non-martyrs were religious and founders. Marguerite Bays was a laywoman. She never married and was a stigmatist.
• Feb. 12, 2019: 8 people, one of whom was a martyr. Of the seven non-martyrs, two were cardinals (Newman and Mindszenty), priests (one a diocesan founder) or religious; five of them were founders. There were no members of the laity.
• March 19, 2019: 14 people, eight of whom were martyrs. All six of the non-martyrs were a priest (one a diocesan founder) or religious; five of them were founders. There were no members of the laity.
• April 6, 2019: 8 people, none of whom were martyrs. Six were priests (one of them diocesan) or religious; two of them were founders. There were two laypersons, who did not marry. Nelson Santana (1955-1964), a boy who died of cancer; and Gaetana Tulomeo (1936-1997), also known as “Nuccia,” a woman who suffered from paralysis since childhood.
• May 13, 2019: 8 people, none of whom were martyrs. A (diocesan) bishop, religious priests and women, three of whom were founders. There were no members of the laity.
• July 5, 2019: 9 people, none of whom were martyrs. Eight were bishops, priests (one of them diocesan) or religious (including Archbishop Fulton Sheen) and four of these were founders. The one lay person, Etienne-Pierre Morlanne (1772-1862), never married and was a founder.
• July 6, 2019: one person, a diocesan priest, who was not a martyr.
• Oct. 3, 2019: one person, a cardinal, who was not a martyr.
• Jan. 23, 2020: 19 people, 13 of whom were martyrs. The non-martyrs were all religious, three of whom were founders.
• May 5, 2020: 5 people, none of whom were martyrs. Three were religious, none of them founders. Two were lay: Maria de la Concepción (Conchita) Barrecheguren y García (1905-1927), and Matteo Farina (1990-2009). The causes of Conchita and her father, Francisco, were both promoted by the Redemptorists; both are Venerable. After Francisco’s wife’s death, he became a Redemptorist.
• May 27, 2020: 12 people, 8 of whom were martyrs. Three of the non-martyrs were priests (one diocesan, Father McGivney, beatified in 2020) or religious, two of whom were founders. The fourth was Pauline-Marie Jaricot, who founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. She was a lay Dominican who took a vow of perpetual virginity. (By my criteria, because of this vow I do not count her as lay.)

The huge imbalance between canonized religious and canonized laity is, to me, unseemly. I will continue this discussion in the next blog post.

***Editor’s Note: For Part XIII in this series, click here