Prayers were answered and the skies cleared!

On the beautiful morning of October 12th - exactly eight years since the cause opened - the Honor Guard of the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem led a line of witnesses advocating for the holiness of the martyrs and processed to the outdoor altar as the song "God We Praise You” rang out!

Bishop William Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee celebrated Mass with his brother bishops Bishop Gregory Parkes, Bishop Erik Pohlmeier, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, and Bishop Emeritus Robert Baker; priests from across the country;  Monsignor Ramon Polcari, Chancellor of Havana, from Cuba; and Fr. Alberto Rodriguez from Spain. They were joined by many members of Native American tribes and hundreds of lay faithful, all overcome with joy to witness at last the close the Diocesan Phase of the beatification cause and its transfer to Rome.

Thanksgiving to Our Lady of La Leche and St. Kateri, patronesses of the canonization committee.

Members of the Petitioner, the lay ministry who petitioned for the beatification of the martyrs.

Colleen Nixon directed glorious music accompanied by flutist Bill Buchholtz of the Pukinaage Mukwa, Algonquian tribe. Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother and Knights Ensemble, Assumption School in Jacksonville sang the post-communion meditation based on a 1635 Timucuan prayer to Our Lady.

The five vice postulators swear to the validity of the Diocesan Phase process.

After Mass, Bishop Gregory Parkes, now of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL, shares his reflections on his decision to formally open the cause on October 12, 2015 when he was the Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee.

Documentation of the La Florida martyrs. These documents are now in Rome and the Diocesan Investigative Phase is closed.