Fr. Roman Braga Proposed for Canonization

Fr. Roman Braga. Photo: Basilica News Agency

CHICAGO — Fr. Roman Braga of blessed memory, who reposed in the Lord in 2015 and is considered a saint by many, has officially been proposed for canonization.

The proposal took place during the 93rd Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America which convened at the Holy Nativity Orthodox Parish in Chicago on September 5.

A presentation on the life and spirituality of Fr. Roman was given by Mother Abbess Gabriela of the Dormition Orthodox Monastery (the monastery where Fr. Roman fell asleep in the Lord) of Rives Junction, Michigan, and during the final session His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel presented a resolution to advance the cause for canonization to the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America.

"When he came among us, he was like leaven, like yeast," Abp. Nathaniel said before getting emotional while speaking about the persecution and imprisonment Fr. Roman faced under communist rule in Romania.

To the people "who had treated him in ways that are indescribable," Abp. Nathaniel shared that the archimandrite said to them by name, "I love you."

Fr. Roman came to the U.S. in 1972 and began work for the Romanian Episcopate by translating church music into English. In the years following he spent time as a parish priest at two different parishes and one monastery. Finally, he retired to the monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Michigan in 1988. This is where he would remain for the rest of his life.

Abp. Nathaniel said that Fr. Roman "came among us as yeast," as a light to North America who was always ready to hear and never to judge — and who always had a smile.

"From the time that he arrived in the United States, we saw in Fr. Roman, in his unique way, a living icon of our Lord. It was a person whose life was not only dedicated to, but literally was the personification of man as God intended."

The archbishop closed his speech by referring to the holy man as "Fr. Roman of the Great Lakes," which, according to UOJ sources, is what the Episcopate would like Fr. Roman to be canonized as in honor of his dedication to serving the churches and people in that area.

The full speech of Abp. Nathaniel can be watched here.

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