Oblatio vitae, meaning "the free offering (i.e. “oblation”) of [one's] life", is a category under which a person may be declared "Blessed" under thecanonization procedures of theCatholic church.
The category was created byPope Francis in hisapostolic letter,Maiorem hac dilectionem (Greater love than this), issued on 11 July 2017.[1]
Maiorem hac dilectionem introduces a new pathway to beatification and canonization in the Catholic Church. Its title comes from Jesus’ words in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends," which sets the theological foundation of the document.[2]
The main purpose of the Motu Proprio is to recognize the "offering of life" (oblatio vitae) as a distinct category of holiness. Before this document, the Church officially recognized two principal paths to sainthood:martyrdom (in odium fidei) andheroic practice of Christian virtues. Pope Francis adds a third path for those who freely and lovingly offer their lives for others, even if their death is not considered martyrdom in the strict sense.[2]
The document explains that this "offering of life" must involve a free, voluntary, and conscious decision, motivated by Christian charity, to accept a certain and premature death for the good of others. There must be a clear causal link between the person's self-offering and their death, showing that the death was a direct consequence of this act of love.[2]
In addition, the person must have lived Christian virtues in an ordinary but genuine way before and during the act of offering their life. There must also be a reputation of holiness among the faithful, both during the person's life and after their death, indicating that the Church community recognizes their witness as exemplary.[2]
Unlike martyrdom, causes based on the offering of life still require the recognition of a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession after death forbeatification. This requirement highlights the Church's careful discernment in confirming that the person’s life and death reflect authentic sanctity.[2]
Maiorem hac dilectionem broadens the Church's understanding of holiness by formally acknowledging heroic self-sacrifice motivated by love as a path toward sainthood. It emphasizes that giving one’s life for others, even outside traditional martyrdom, can be a profound and authentic expression of Christian holiness.[2]
| Candidate | Birth | Death | Diocese | Cause Opened: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernardo Tolomei,OSB | 1272 | 1348 | Siena, Italy | 24 November 1644 |
| Everard de Marcour,SJ | 1514 | 1580 | Rome, Italy | |
| Luigi Gonzaga,SJ | 1568 | 1591 | Rome, Italy | 19 October 1605 |
| Edward Metcalfe,OSB | 1792 | 1847 | Middlesbrough, England | |
| Lodovico Altieri | 1805 | 1867 | Albano, Italy | 14 March 2009 |
| Shreveport Martyrs of Charity | 1873 | Shreveport, United States | 20 October 2020 | |
| Patrick Ryan | 1845 | 1878 | Knoxville, United States | 14 November 2016 |
| Damien De Veuster,SSCC | 1840 | 1889 | Mechelen–Brussels, Belgium | April 1938 |
| Caio Rasrelli, SX | 1872 | 1901 | Parma, Italy | |
| Thomas Byles | 1870 | 1912 | Brentwood, England | |
| Josef Peruschitz,OSB | 1871 | 1912 | Munich-Freising, Germany | |
| Juozas Montvila | 1885 | 1912 | Vilkaviškis, Lithuania | |
| Maksymilian Depczyński,CR | 1880 | 1915 | Kraków, Poland | |
| Dositea Andrés Marín,SdeM | 1863 | 1918 | Zamora, Spain | |
| Maximilian Maria Kolbe,OFMConv | 1893 | 1941 | Kraków, Poland | 12 May 1955 |
| Izidor Završnik | 1917 | 1943 | Celje, Slovenia | 26 April 2023 |
| Salvo D'Acquisto | 1920 | 1943 | Military Ordinariate, Italy | 4 November 1983 |
| Albino Badinelli | 1920 | 1944 | Chiavari, Italy | 21 December 2021 |
| Emil Kapaun | 1916 | 1951 | Wichita, United States | 26 October 2007 |
| Vincent Robert Capodanno,MM | 1929 | 1967 | Military Ordinate, United States | 17 September 2004 |
| Paolo Ponzi,MCCJ | 1930 | 1972 | Hoima, Uganda | |
| Mario Pozza,MCCJ | 1935 | 1972 | ||
| Lucía Peñacoba Núñez, MIC | 1925 | 1980 | Tumaco, Colombia | |
| Carol Piette,MM | 1939 | 1980 | San Salvador, El Salvador | |
| Franz de Castro Holzwarth | 1942 | 1981 | São José dos Campos, Brazil | 11 July 2008 |
| Cassandra Martyrs of Charity | 1983 | Manila, Philippines | ||
| Ezechiele Ramin,MCCJ | 1953 | 1985 | Ji-Paraná, Brazil | 1 April 2016 |
| Alejandro Labaka Ugarte,OFMCap | 1920 | 1987 | Aguarico, Ecuador | 4 July 1994 |
| Inés Arango Velásquez, HTC | 1937 | 1987 | ||
| Eugénie Kabila Musafiri Basuzwa,SSJ | 1962 | 1995 | Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo | |
| Kikwit Martyrs of Charity,SdPIP | 1995 | Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo | 28 April 2013 | |
| Richard Michael Fernando,SJ | 1970 | 1996 | Phnom Penh, Cambodia | 2 August 2017 |
| Miguel Ángel Quiroga Gaona,SM | 1972 | 1998 | Quibdó, Colombia | 25 March 2019 |
| Thomas Vander Woude | 1942 | 2008 | Arlington, United States | |
| Pedro Manuel Salado de Alba, HdeN | 1968 | 2012 | Córdoba, Spain | 12 October 2018 |
| Helena Kmieć | 1991 | 2017 | Kraków, Poland | 10 May 2024 |
| Ignacio Echeverría | 1978 | 2017 | Madrid, Spain | |
| Kendrick Castillo | 2001 | 2019 | Colorado Springs, United States | |
| Roberto Malgesini | 1969 | 2020 | Como, Italy | |
| Daniel Mark Anderl | 2000 | 2020 | Metuchen, United States | 30 September 2025 |
| Luan Augusto da Silva,SVP | 2006 | 2023 | Londrina, Brazil | |
| Karoline Verri Alves,SVP | 2005 | 2023 |
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