Town-born nun may be UK’s next saint
Friday 1st August 2008, 12:00AM BST.
A Shrewsbury-born nun who was raised in Coleham could become Britain’s next saint.
Elizabeth Prout, known as Mother Mary Joseph of Jesus, was born on September 2, 1820, and died on January 11, 1864.
She was the founder of the Catholic religious order the Institute of the Holy Family, later known as the Passionists – the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. The families of two terminally-ill patients in Chile claim they prayed to Sister Prout for help and their recoveries are being investigated as miracles.
A Manchester-based superior general of the Passionist Sisters plans to travel to Chile to interview the survivors and their doctors. In order for Sister Prout to be canonised, the miracles must be attributed to her. If the Manchester-based superior general is able to obtain verifiable evidence, Catholic leaders will gather evidence for the Vatican to see if it warrants beautification and canonisation.
Sister Prout was born in Coleham to an Anglican mother and a father who was a lapsed Catholic. She converted to Catholicism during her 20s.
Later, she was advised to make her home in Manchester by Father Gaudentius, so that she could teach in a parish school.
She mixed with people who lived in squalid conditions and established herself in the parish by tending to the sick and poor. She was soon joined by others who wanted to help her and Sister Prout founded a new congregation.
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