The diocesan inquiry took place in Marseilles from 1926 to 1929. Fourteen eyewitnesses and 41 other witnesses were questioned. The cause for beatification was opened at the Sacred Congregation for Rites in Rome on January 15, 1935. Between 1936 and 1937, 15 other witnesses were heard. From 1947 to 1968, historical research took place in 418 archives in five different countries. On May 26, 1970, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints recognized by decree the “heroic virtues” of Eugene de Mazenod. Two documentations of miraculous healings were approved by the Congregation for Causes of Saints on December 4, 1974. The Beatification by Pope Paul VI took place in Rome, October 19, 1975. On December 15, 1994 the Congregation for Causes of Saints approved another miracle. The Canonization was celebrated in Rome by Pope John Paul II on December 3, 1995.
The Postulation is about to request the insertion of Saint Eugene’s feast into the universal Calendar of the Church. Furthermore, a good number of Oblates and members of the faithful would like to see Saint Eugene as the patron saint of broken families, since the Saint’s parents were divorced.
