VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Saturday put 20th century statesman Robert Schuman, one of the founders of modern Europe, on the path to sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
A Vatican statement said the pope approved a decree recognising the “heroic virtues” of Schuman, who died in 1963. The recognition is one of the earliest stages of the long process that can lead to canonisation.
Schuman’s work was instrumental in the founding of today’s European institutions, such as the European Union.
Schuman, who served as French prime minister and foreign minister in the immediate post-World War II period, also played a role in th…
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