A teacher for the whole Church.
The cause of the Doctor de la Paz.

“Doctor of the Church” is the title the Church confers on certain saints whose teaching has been of particular benefit to the whole People of God. It is not a prize for erudition, but the recognition that their doctrine continues to serve as a guide.

The criteria were laid down by Benedict XIV in the eighteenth century and remain in force; they are set out and applied in the 1981 Instruction of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. There are three:

• Insignis vitae sanctitas Eminent holiness of life: he must be a canonised saint. St Vincent already meets this: he was canonised in 1455.
• Eminens doctrina Eminent doctrine, fully orthodox and of broad and lasting influence. Learning alone is not enough: he must serve as a teacher to the whole Church.
• Ecclesiae declaratio A formal declaration by the Church: by the Pope or an ecumenical council. In practice, by the Pope.

How the process works today

1. Promoters. The diocese, the Order or associations appoint a postulator and prepare a Positio super Ecclesiae Doctoratu, a documented study of his doctrine.
2. Rome. The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints receives it and consults the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on the eminence and orthodoxy of that doctrine.
3. Examination. Theological consultors vote, followed by a session of cardinals and bishops.
4. Decision. If the vote is favourable, the cause is presented to the Pope, who decides and makes the proclamation (by apostolic letter or another document).

The title does not make the whole of a saint’s work infallible: it recognises that his teaching is a sound and fruitful guide for the Church.

Were he proclaimed, St Vincent Ferrer would be the fifth Spanish Doctor, after St Isidore of Seville, St Teresa of Jesus, St John of the Cross and St John of Ávila.

What has been done

• 1455 Canonisation by Callixtus III: the requirement of holiness is fulfilled.
• 1955 The Archbishop of Valencia, Marcelino Olaechea, calls him the “Doctor de la Paz”.
• 1958 The General Chapter of the Order of Preachers, at Caleruega, resolves to work for the doctorate (acts of the chapter).
• 2016 Joint document of the Caballeros Jurados de San Vicente Ferrer of Valencia and the authorities of Vannes to advance the cause.
• 2018 Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, in his pastoral letter for the Vincentian Holy Year, announces steps and meetings with the Order of Preachers, the San Vicente Ferrer Faculty of Theology, the Catholic University of Valencia, the Caballeros Jurados and the Diocese of Vannes.
• 2019 International congress in Valencia; Cardinal Cañizares asks that it contribute to the proclamation.
• Today Documentation and promotion of the cause at doctordelapaz.org.

What remains provisional

• There is no public record that a Positio has been submitted in Rome, nor of an opinion from the Doctrine of the Faith — unlike other, more advanced causes reported in the press.
• Formal, sustained support from the Order of Preachers and the dioceses (Valencia, Vannes and others).
• A critical edition and a systematic study of his doctrine to serve as the basis for the Positio.
• Endorsements from bishops and institutions.
• Submission to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
• The examination by the Doctrine of the Faith, the votes of the consultors and of the session of cardinals and bishops, and the Pope’s decision.