Twelve steps to sainthood?

ST. PAUL, Minnesota--That dozens, if not hundreds, of people have become sober after prayers to Matt Talbot is nothing short of miraculous to Mary Costello, but the Vatican has a stricter definition of "miracle" to qualify someone for canonization to sainthood.

That's why Costello and others formed the U.S. Committee for the Canonization of Matt Talbot, which met for the first time during the annual convention of Calix International, an association of Catholic recovering alcoholics. "We want to see what we can do to move the cause along," says Costello of Lincoln, Nebraska. "We need to up the publicity. He really helps people, but we need a physical miracle."

Talbot (1856-1925) was born into the poverty of Dublin's inner city and began drinking at the age of 12. After 16 years of chronic alcoholism, he found sobriety through prayer and self-sacrifice, using a program that resembled Alcoholics Anonymous' 12 Steps, although it predated it by about 50 years.

He went on to live a life of asceticism and charity toward the poor.

In 1973, he was declared venerable, which means he lived a life of heroic virtue. Costello would like to see the Vatican loosen its requirement for a physical miracle. "I think the alcoholic community really needs a saint," she says.

More information about Talbot can be found at www.matt-talbot.com.