Why not? Sainthood is an inherently political process. No person becomes a saint without intense lobbying and political pressure. You think Joan of Arc got her sainthood without politics involved?
And while the Catholic Church likes to claim a monopoly on sainthood, it really has no right to that claim. Most early saints were simply individuals that people in a community loved, respected, and later revered. A lot of these early saints were simply canonized officially by the church after they had already been venerated as saints by their communities for generations. There’s one saint that is likely just a misremembering of the Buddha. So people could absolutely start venerating him as a saint unofficially whenever they want.
And in the long term, Luigi could even end up an official saint of the Church if the circumstances are right. After conviction and sentencing, he could meet with a priest and confess his crimes in full and formally ask for absolution. And in the doctrine of the Church, that would result in him being fully forgiven for his crime. It’s the same way the Church recognizes the sanctity of warrior-saints who spent their whole lives killing. As long as they confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness from God, all is forgiven.
So let’s imagine Luigi did that. Suddenly his sins are washed away. Now we just have a man who is effectively a martyr for the thousands of victims of Brian Thompson. If that doesn’t a saint make, what does? Sainthood is meant for people who give their lives in the service of others, and that’s exactly what Luigi ultimately did. If it weren’t for the whole murder part, everyone would consider him a hero. And in the eyes of the church, confession washes away the sin of killing. Now he’s an absolved martyr dying for the service others.
Now, for official recognition from the Church, there would need to be some miracles attributed to him after his (likely) execution. But that doesn’t seem that hard to get. Tens of thousands of cancer patients praying for the ascended Luigi’s intercession? Some of them are going to make a statistically unlikely complete recovery. Won’t be hard to get the requisite number of miracles.
I don’t imagine the Church would officially recognize Luigi’s canonization within our lifetimes. But the Church thinks in centuries. If he decided to make a religious turn and really lean into Catholicism, he absolutely could end up saint, maybe in the 2100s sometime.
Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
If he is a catholic then I pray that he becomes a legit saint for what he did.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If Dorothy Day is still just blessed don’t hold your breath