Social activist Dorothy Day may soon be recognized as a Catholic saint. The Archdiocese of New York officially opened her cause for canonization in 2000, which was later confirmed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2012.

According to a press release from the Dorothy Day Guild, the initial diocesan phase has concluded, marking the final phase as the cause heads to Rome for the Vatican’s stamp of approval.

This initial phase required the Guild’s effort to amass “what would total 137 archival boxes, containing over 50,000 pages of documents attesting to her holiness (including documents, interviews, writings and publications by and about her).” The large task was aimed at examining her life and determining whether she led a life of “heroic virtue.”

Furthermore, the conclusion of the diocesan phase of her cause coincides with the 89th anniversary of a young Dorothy Day famously praying “with tears and with anguish,” after covering the 1932 Hunger March in Washington, D.C. This event began her life-long passion of advocating for the poor.

Born in Brooklyn in 1897, Dorothy Day was baptized into the Episcopal Church, but spent most of her early life as a radical social activist, joining the Socialist Party. Day was a journalist who was disgusted by the state of the world and desired real change.

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