Christian virtue affirmed by an exhaustive biographical study is only part of the profile. Since at least the fifth century, these celebrated figures have been associated with some magical event, some evidence of supernatural power.
"The miracle is an indication that the saint is in heaven, this person is already holy and has led a holy life," said the Rev. James Martin, associate editor of the Catholic weekly America and author of My Life with the Saints. "It's an indication to the church that this person is praying for us in heaven."
The Rev. Byron Miller of New Orleans, Seelos' church-appointed advocate in the United States and director of the Seelos Center, is confident that his man has the stuff of holiness.
"I don't want to sound smug," he said, but "we'll get Seelos where he needs to be. I really do think it's a matter of when. There's nothing I can see that would prevent Father Seelos from becoming a saint."
A priest arrives in Baltimore
After moving from Germany to the United States in the 1840s, Seelos was ordained at St. James in Baltimore, and from 1854 to 1863 served as pastor at St. Alphonsus in Baltimore, Sts. Peter and Paul in Cumberland and St. Mary's in Annapolis. By all accounts, he stood out for his good humor.
Monsignor Arthur Bastress of St. Alphonsus speaks of Seelos' popularity with parishioners there, evident in the lines for his confessional that commonly stretched around the nave. While other priests "could give them a tongue-lashing, well, he didn't do that. He would be more compassionate, or gentle or cheerful," Bastress said.
Kind, compassionate, good-humored, martyred in service to the sick - Seelos was all that. But, a saint?
Heibel turned to him when her ordeal of treatment began at Walter Reed. She sought his help when she got the word in spring 2004 that the cancer had returned, turning up in five places where it had not been found before. That May, her doctor at Walter Reed told her that she probably had six months to live.
"I went home and started doing my own research" on the Internet, Heibel said. She found out about a chemotherapy trial for esophageal cancer patients being conducted at Hopkins. While she did not qualify for the trial, Dr. Michael K. Gibson, agreed to treat her with a new combination of two established drugs. He began with modest expectations.
