G.K. Chesterton set to be our first saint in 300 years after ‘miracle conceptions’
FATHER Brown author GK Chesterton could become England’s first Roman Catholic saint since the 17th century.
The deeply religious writer, who died in 1936, is said to have answered the prayers of childless Catholic couples asking for ‘miracle’ babies.
An official report examining the strength of his case for canonisation is published next month, and will rebut claims he held anti-Semitic views and used Jewish tropes in his works.
Canon John Udris, who was asked to compile the report by the Bishop of Northampton in 2013, said there ‘wasn’t a racist bone’ in the writer’s body. He told the Daily Telegraph infertile couples singled-out Chesterton to ask for miracle conceptions.
The Bishop will now decide whether to open a ‘cause’ with the Vatican, which usually requires evidence of at least two posthumous miracles. The socalled Forty Martyrs, who were executed for treason between 1 3 and 1679, were the last English saints to be canonised.