To the editor:
I would like to know why Father Nelson Baker has been constantly overlooked in the Canon of the Saints. I note others are now added in the Mass but Father Baker, although declared 'Servant of God' is constantly pushed aside and still not fully canonized -- this in spite of his miracles, the liquefied blood in tubes which had been placed in his casket, after all those many years have transpired since his burial and the tubes were placed in there when he died. I simply do not understand this. The man was a saint if there ever was one. What is the matter with the Vatican leaving him out time after time? I am a convert and this does not sit well with me, particularly since I am originally from the area Father Baker lived in and since my grandmother had met him in a time of great trial and he was marvelous to her, consoling her at a time when she was desolate.
Eileen E. Callahan
Wayland
EDITOR'S NOTE: According to the January 28 Catholic News Service article "Celebrations planned to mark progress in Father Baker's sainthood cause," the Vatican issued a decree on January 14, 2011, confirming Father Baker's heroic virtue and adding the title Venerable to his name. This development completed the first step in a three-step process toward canonization. The next step in the process requires approval of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Father Baker, at which point the priest would be beatified. A possible first miracle is currently under study at the Vatican. A second miracle would be needed for canonization.
