Pope offers hope Scots nun will be made saint

Published on Tuesday 18 March 2008 11:11

THE Pope has said he will proceed with the beatification of a Scottish biscuit-factory worker if a miracle in her name can be ratified officially.

Margaret Sinclair, from Edinburgh, who died of tuberculosis in 1925 aged 25, has had miracles such as making a blind woman see, helping an arthritic patient to walk and saving the life of Jimmy Savile when he was ill aged two, attributed to her.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, has revealed that, during a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, he asked about the possibility of Ms Sinclair being beatified.

In an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland this month, Cardinal O'Brien said: "On one of my visits to Rome to see the Pope, I asked about the possibility of Margaret Sinclair being eventually beatified and canonised.

"The Pope said to me, 'Get your people to pray for a miracle'. That is what we are asking people to do."

Ms Sinclair's piety was recognised by Pope Pius XII in 1942 and she was declared Venerable – meaning she lived a wholly virtuous life – in 1978. A dossier of evidence has been presented to the Vatican. If she is canonised, Ms Sinclair would become one of about 9,000 saints.

Cardinal O'Brien added: "If she were canonised, I think it would give ordinary people a very great boost, particularly those who are finding it hard in their lives."

&#149 Scotland's Saint in Waiting: Monday, 24 March, BBC Radio Scotland, 11:30am.