Tenure? Easy. Sainthood? Quite Possibly.

That's the title of a short piece in today's Chronicle of Higher Education about the sainthood cause of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.  It begins:

The academic career of the man on track to be named the first American-born male saint got off to a less than divine start.

After earning a prestigious Agrege degree in 1923 — a sort of European superdoctorate in philosophy that guarantees a job at a European university — Fulton J. Sheen had offers to teach at both Columbia and Oxford. Excited but unsure, the young priest telegraphed his hometown bishop in Illinois to ask where he should go.

The answer? Back to Peoria, son. A local parish needed a priest. Bound by his vows, Father Sheen obeyed.

The article discusses allegations that he fabricated a Ph.D. from the Pontifical College Angilicum, but suggests that even if it's true, it wouldn't necessarily hinder the sainthood cause:

In the end it probably won't make a difference. Saints are human and have flaws, says Father Apostoli. He cites the postulator working on Mother Teresa's canonization, who advised the Sheen supporters: "Don't try to prove he was a saint all his life. Just prove he was a saint the last 15 years."

The article concludes with this list of "The Saints of Academe."  I understand why the patron saint of oversleepers is included in this category, but why the patron saints for lost causes and impossible situtations? 

THE SAINTS OF ACADEME

Patron saints have long watched over academe, its people, and its problems.

Colleges and universities:
Four patron saints share this turf, including St. Contardo Ferrini and St. Thomas Aquinas

Computer users:
St. Isidore of Seville

Learning:
Five, including St. Acca and St. Margaret of Scotland

Lecturers and speakers:
St. John Chrysostom, St. Justin Martyr

Liberal arts:
St. Catherine of Bologna

Lost causes/impossible situations:
Four, including St. Jude Thaddeus and St. Philomena

Mathematicians:
St. Barbara and St. Hubert of Liège

Natural sciences:
St. Albertus Magnus

Oversleepers:
St. Vitus

Students:
17, including St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother and St. Ursula

Test takers:
St. Joseph of Cupertino

Lisa