Pope advances sainthood causes of missionary priest and martyred nun Father Mariano Gazpio of the Order of Augustinian Recollects served in China as a missionary Updated: May 24, 2021 02:25 PM GMT Trending Father Mariano Gazpio had great devotion to the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary. (Photo: Augustinian Recollects) Pope Francis has advanced the sainthood causes of seven people, including a Spanish missionary priest to China and a Peruvian nun who was murdered by Maoist guerrillas. On May 22, the pope authorized the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints to issue seven new degrees during a meeting with the congregation’s prefect, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.