A BID is underway to have late Celtic legend Tommy Burns made a saint.
The Tommy Burns Cause for Canonisation Co-ordinating Team is hoping they can convince the Bishop of Paisley, Fr John Keenan, to formally begin the process.
Speaking to the Diocese of Paisley official podcast, Chris McLaughlin said he firmly believes the footballer was a saint who put his faith into action 'in a very real and concerted way'.
'Life of extraordinary sanctity'
Burns both played for and managed both Celtic and Kilmarnock, as well as taking charge of Reading.
Always open about his faith, he passed away on May 15, 2008, two years after it was first revealed he was being treated for cancer.
The 51-year-old's funeral was held in St Mary's Church in the Calton area of Glasgow, which he attended as he grew up and where Celtic FC was founded.
With a five-year moratorium on becoming saint after someone's death having long since passed, the Tommy Burns Cause for Canonisation Co-ordinating Team are now undertaking the bid in earnest.
Thousands lined the streets to say farewell to Burns before his funeral at St Mary's Church on May 20, 2008 (Image: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images)Mr McLaughlin told the Diocese of Paisley podcast that the idea was first mooted by the footballer's friend Fr Robert Farrell, who always suggested taking the process forward.
"What [Tommy] is also remembered for is a life of extraordinary sanctity and holiness which basically anyone who knew him seems to be able to talk about at some length," said Mr McLaughlin.
"He was a daily Mass-goer, he prayed a great deal, his religion meant a very great deal to him and he was someone who put it into action in a very real and concerted way, going out of his way to help many, many people through extraordinary acts of kindness all through his life."
Process
Mr McLaughlin and two friends, Philip Church and Robert Docherty, are now petitioning Bishop Keenan to open an investigation into Burns' life and death to determine whether he is worthy of being declared a saint in the Catholic Church.
"At this moment in time, we don't have to prove just yet that Tommy actually was a saint — although we firmly believe that he was — but what we have to do is we have to show that there is good reason to believe that he might be a saint," said Mr McLaughlin.
To convince the bishop to begin the cause for canonisation, they have to show that Burns had a reputation for holiness and sanctity.
"We are very confident that we can do that — almost everyone who know Tommy seems to be able to speak to that point," said Mr McLaughlin.
"The second point is we have to show that there is what's known as a cult of Tommy — what that essentially means is that people have been asking for his intercession, people have been asking him for favours from heaven.
"Very early on we met people who have been doing precisely that."
Testimonies
As Burns was often secretive about good deeds he carried out, Mr McLaughlin has appealed for those who can testify to his acts of faith to contact him.
This will help him build a case to present to the bishop.
"We know that Tommy did some extraordinary things quietly and the nature of that is therefore we don't know everything which he did do," he said.
Burns, pictured in September 1996, during his time as manager of Celtic (Image: Paul Mcfegan / Sportsphoto / Allstar via Getty Images)"We're very confident that there are a great many thousands of people out there who probably have stories about Tommy Burns and we'd like to hear about those because those are going to be very important in the course of things as this case progresses."
If the bid is successful, Burns would become only the second Scottish saint since the Reformation, following St John Ogilvie's canonisation in 1976, more than 350 years after his death.
Anyone who can assist the cause can log their testimonies at tommyburns.org or email them to [email protected]
See More: Celtic, Diocese Of Paisley, Tommy Burns
