The beatification cause commenced under
Pope John Paul II on 12 February 1996 after he was titled a
Servant of God after the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the official "
nihil obstat" to the cause and allowed for it to commence on a diocesan level; Bishop Bassano Staffieri oversaw its opening on 30 March 1996 and its conclusion on 26 May 1998. The C.C.S. validated this process on 28 May 1999 in
Rome. The postulation drafted and then submitted the
Positio to the C.C.S. in 2003 and it allowed for a board of theologians to approve the cause on 16 October 2007 and for the C.C.S. to do so as well on 3 April 2012.
Pope Benedict XVI - on 10 May 2012 - confirmed that Focherini had died "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) and thus approved his beatification. Cardinal
Angelo Amato presided over the beatification in Modena on 15 June 2013 on the behalf of
Pope Francis. Focherini's friend Lampronti attended the beatification. The current
postulator for this cause is the Franciscan priest Giovangiuseppe Califano. ==References==