(RNS) — It is rare for the close relatives of a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church to be alive, much less able to observe the process. Yet at a Vatican symposium, “A Pilgrim of Hope: An Academic Symposium on the Legacy of Dorothy Day,” on Wednesday (Nov. 26), the grandchildren of Dorothy Day were able to hear how others think about her work as a founder of the Catholic Worker movement, and introduce many to the woman they knew.
“What I really want to do is to share her with others, share her with you,” said Martha Hennessy, Day’s granddaughter, who is a Catholic Worker herself and peace activist who runs farms in Vermont. “She did belong to the world, but she also belonged to her family. So, I just want to share some stories about family life.”
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Day currently holds the title “Servant of God,” the first formal stage in the canonization process. Her local diocese has completed its investigation into her life and submitted evidence and testimony to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints. If approved, the pope would declare her “Venerable,” recognizing that she lived a life of heroic virtue. From there, beatification and canonization typically require two miracles attributed to her intercession.
The process has moved slowly in Rome, with the Vatican taking its time. Among the advocates for her cause, sustaining public engagement and promoting reflection on her life are crucial as the church shows little urgency.
So, while the audience heard from Kevin Ahern, a leading advocate for her sainthood and a member of Manhattan University’s Dorothy Day Guild, which works to preserve and promote Day’s legacy of charity, pacifism and spirituality, the symposium emphasized recollections from those who knew her.
Dorothy Day’s grandchildren Martha Hennessy, left, and Kate Hennessy, right, participate in the Vatican-hosted symposium titled “A Pilgrim of Hope: An Academic Symposium on the Legacy of Dorothy Day,” on Nov. 26, 2025, in Rome. (Video screen grab)
One such person is Robert Ellsberg, the religious publisher and author who dropped out of Harvard in 1975 at age 19 to join the Catholic Worker movement in New York City. Day asked him to become the managing editor of its newspaper, the Catholic Worker, and he worked closely with Day until her death in 1980, and would go on to publish Day’s letters and diaries, most notably in “The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day,” in 2008.
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of my encounter with Dorothy Day,” Ellsberg said. “I decided to take a little time off from college, which turned into five years, and quite soon I got hooked there (at the New York Catholic Worker). Kind of lost track of time.”
Some believe that Day’s cause for sainthood has been slowed because her life,