Rev. Theodore Daniel Foley, C.P., 1913–1974,

graduated from Catholic University with a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1943 and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology in 1944. For many years a teacher, spiritual director and local superior, the Springfield, Mass., native served as general consultor of his 4,000-priest Passionist order from 1958 to 1964, when he was elected superior general.

He led the order until his death with unflagging kindness, gentleness, holiness and devotion to his priestly vows during the challenging years of change brought about by the Second Vatican Council, according to those who served with him.

"When systems are changing and unprecedented events are taking place, then it is necessary to have a man so strong that he can be a peacemaker, so secure that he can be confronted with the most troublesome events and people and yet be gentle, so trusting that he can be nondirective and still effect change. Above all, so prayerful that he can use the power of God instead of his own," wrote Rev. Flavian Dougherty, C.P., describing Father Foley at the time of the latter's death.

In January 2007, the Vatican gave the green light to the extensive investigation needed to determine whether Father Foley should be canonized. The Diocese of Springfield has created a memorial at his home parish, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, to honor this native son.

Rev. Emil Kapaun, 1916–1951,

graduated from Catholic University with an M.A. in education (with a minor in history) in 1948. A chaplain in the Burma theater of World War II, the Pilsen, Kan., native re-enlisted in the chaplaincy following his CUA graduation and in July 1950 was sent to serve a regiment of G.I.s fighting in the Korean War.

When his regiment retreated in the face of massive Chinese attacks in November 1950, Father Kapaun chose to stay behind to care or wounded soldiers. Taken prisoner, he died of starvation, dysentery and a blood clot in a North Korean POW camp on May 23, 1951.

Father Kapaun is remembered for his humility, faith, bravery, constancy, love and solicitude for his fellow prisoners. He was their hero, their admired and beloved "padre," according to fellow inmates in the hellish POW camp characterized by hunger, cruelty and long communist propaganda lectures. They say that Father Kapaun shared the gospel message with everyone, stole food to feed the starving POWs, risked death by preventing Chinese executions of wounded Americans, washed and tended sick men, cleaned latrines and dug graves. "Somehow his presence could turn a stinking, louse-ridden mud hut — for a little while — into a cathedral," one former POW remembers.

The investigation into the possible sainthood of Father Kapaun was started by the Catholic Church's Archdiocese for Military Services in 1993. In June 2008, the investigation was transferred to Kapaun's home diocese of Wichita, Kan., which hopes to send its findings to Rome early in 2010.

On June 26, 2009, Andrea Ambrosi, the Vatican postulator for Father Kapaun's cause, arrived in Wichita to interview physicians about three alleged miraculous events. Among these are the claims of 20-year-old Chase Kear who testifies that he was instantly healed of a life-threatening head injury last year after he and his family prayed to Father Kapaun.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, 1895–1979,

graduated from CUA with a bachelor's degree in both theology and canon law in 1920, and taught at the university as a professor of philosophy and theology from 1926 to 1950. One of the American Church's leading scholars, evangelists, preachers and missions fundraisers, he was also the foremost American media priest of all time.

From 1952 to 1957, he hosted the primetime national television program "Life Is Worth Living," which became one of the most popular programs in the country. In 1955, The New York Times estimated that 30 million were tuning in to hear the CUA alumnus present his weekly theological, philosophical or political lecture. The archbishop's popularity with both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences was a major contributor in advancing the cultural and spiritual respectability of Roman Catholicism and overcoming the nation's former bias against Catholics, according to historians.

Archbishop Sheen was a role model for the media, according to the late Gregory Ladd, who began the Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation to promote the canonization effort. "Sheen is also a role model in six other areas: his conduct as a bishop and priest, his promotion of racial equality, the pro-life movement, ecumenism, eucharistic adoration, and devotion to the Blessed Mother," wrote Ladd.

In 2002, the bishop of Peoria, Ill., opened the cause of sainthood for Archbishop Sheen, kicking off the official evaluation of Sheen's practice of Christian virtues, his mission of evangelization and service, and the miracles attributed to prayers offered up in his name. The diocesan phase of the investigation concluded in February 2008, with 22 volumes of investigation and witness testimony being sent to the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Over the next several months, the cause's postulator in Rome will summarize the 22 volumes into a 1,000-page document, which will receive the judgment of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the ultimate judgment of the Pope. Even in cases in which individuals are ultimately canonized, the final decision takes several years, or in some cases centuries, to arrive at.