Menlo Park, CA, Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- If you’re committed to or just curious about recognizing the saints among us, set aside Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2027, for an experience with irrepressible impact.
Those are the newly announced dates for the second certificate program sponsored by the nation’s first-of-its-kind Center of Sainthood Studies, founded at St. Patricks’ Seminary and University in Menlo Park, Calif., in June 2025, and set to examine, explore and ease the navigation of the rugged road to canonization.
The maximum 45 participants will have access to specialists adept at translating the complex, confounding process into comprehensive, comprehensible step-by-step instructions for advancing candidates for sainthood.
Successful completion of the diocesan phase of inspections, investigations and inquiries moves the cause of a deserving man, woman or child to the Vatican for the final outcome.
Participants will earn an official certificate upon finishing the intensive course, designed by Dr. Emanuele Spedicato and Dr. Waldery Hilgeman, esteemed postulators and canon law experts from Rome with extensive experience in presenting cases for sainthood.
The team also will include historian Travis Degheri, doctor in leadership studies, along with canon lawyer Msgr. Brian Taylor, judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of New York who served in the Dicastery (Vatican department) for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The 40 clergy, religious and laity from 20 states who attended the initial conference in February 2026 attested to such benefits as gaining theological and historical insights, honing practical skills in researching and preparing a cause and growing spiritually.
“The most lasting impact … is the community that all attendees are now a part of,” said Degheri, executive director of the sainthood center. “Many causes of participants from our inaugural program have seen significant progress in just a few short months since the program.”
One of them, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, founder of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate, known for their door-to-door evangelization, has since been elevated from “Servant of God” to “Venerable.”
"The opportunity to have this formation is enormous,” said Dr. Siobhan Verbeek, director of Canonical Services for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It has the potential of impacting the growth of causes in the United States because people are formed in exactly what they need to do.”
Interested clergy, religious and laity can register for the 2027 program, to be held at the scenic Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park and carry an all-inclusive cost for the course, room and board of $2,500, at www.sainthoodcenter.com. A six-minute video on the home page provides an informative, instructive, inspiring glimpse into the sainthood seminar and center.
Dr. Travis Degheri Center for Sainthood Studies (949) 510-0477 travis@saintcenter.com