Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 12, 2025 / 15:24 pm

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted in favor of advancing the beatification and canonization cause of the late Jesuit Father Richard Thomas.

Bishop Peter Baldacchino, who has served as bishop of Las Cruces in New Mexico since 2019, initiated the request for the Jesuit priest’s beatification. Baldacchino spoke about Thomas and his ministry to the poor at the bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore.

“Jesus said, ‘When you hold a lunch or dinner, do not invite your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, rather … invite the poor. Blessed indeed will you be, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous,’” Baldacchino said during his Nov. 11 presentation.

Thomas “gave witness to those wo

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