Wilmington native’s journey toward sainthood begins Friday

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The push to make a Wilmington-born priest a saint officially begins Friday in Raleigh.

“Rome is coming to Raleigh,” Bishop Michael Burbidge said during a visit to Wilmington today.

Members of the Vatican will come to Raleigh Friday to help begin the canonization process of Wilmington-born priest Thomas Price.

Bishop Burbidge says he is honored to be involved in the process.

“Most bishops go through life without being able to oversee the process of a saint being canonized, so I’m very very excited about it,” he said.

The church will establish several commissions to examine Fr. Price’s life and whether he should become a saint. Burbidge says the process could take years.

“We’re all called to be saints, but very few of us are canonized and officially named a saint,” Burbidge said. “To do that is very significant, so a lot of time is put into it.”

The canonization process will begin during a service Friday evening at the Cathedral of Sacred Heart in Raleigh.