Preparations are underway in Norway to open a cause for the canonization of Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sigrid Undset, according to an announcement by Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo on July 8.
«She is much more than an author and a Nobel laureate. For us, she is a model of Christian faith, of a life lived in virtue, and of the pursuit of holiness,» Bishop Hansen said of Undset during a Mass in which he made the announcement.
«She demonstrated a constant and practical concern for the poor. She devoted herself entirely to caring for her daughter, to her commitment to life, and to the sanctity of life. Through her numerous books, she influenced countless believers, inspiring them to live in Christ and bearing witness to our medieval saints,» he said, according to a press release.
Biography
Born in Denmark in 1882 and raised in Norway, Undset is best known for her novel *Kristin Lavransdatter*, a trilogy that chronicles the life of its protagonist in the Middle Ages. This work earned Undset the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928, «primarily for her powerful depictions of life in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages,» according to the Nobel Prize Committee.
Her research on medieval Catholicism led her to convert to Catholicism in 1924, and in 1928 she joined the Dominican Third Order. During World War II, she fled to New York, where she publicly advocated for the Norwegian resistance against Nazism. She returned to Norway after the war ended in 1945 and died in 1949 in Lillehammer.
Bishop Hansen's Initiative
Before announcing the initiative, the bishop Hansen He presented it to the Nordic Episcopal Conference, composed of the bishops of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as experts on Undset's life. Her cause for canonization will formally open in the fall, he said.
Bishop Hansen shared the news during a Mass in honor of Saint Sunniva at the ruins of the Benedictine monastery on Selja, an island considered the cradle of Norwegian Christianity and the seat of its first diocese. According to legend, the 10th-century Christian queen, Saint Sunniva, fled Ireland to escape a marriage to a tyrant and eventually died on Selja, after which miracles were attributed to the site.
«Like Saint Sunniva and her companions, Sigrid Undset should also be a model for us of a life in Christ,» said Bishop Hansen. He encouraged the faithful to pray for the diocese’s work on her cause.
Following the formal opening of her cause, Undset will receive the title of «Servant of God.» If her cause progresses, the pope will grant her the title of «Venerable» in recognition of her life of heroic Christian virtue. Normally, her beatification would require an approved miracle attributed to her intercession, and her canonization would require a second approved miracle.
Español 
English 
Italiano