fun deserve an essential place in community life." Beatification The beatification process opened under Pope Pius XI on 21 March 1934 and Kolping was titled as a Servant of God. The informative process opened on 21 March 1934 but the circumstances of the times – both political and religious – did not permit the process to continue. After the Second World War these efforts were resumed. Historians approved the cause on 24 February 1987 while the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (CCS) received the Positio from the postulation in 1988. Theologians approved the cause on 15 January 1988 as did the CCS on 18 April 1989; the confirmation of his heroic virtue allowed for Pope John Paul II to name him as Venerable on 13 May 1989. The miracle that led to his beatification was investigated in the diocese of origin and later received C.C.S. validation on 5 December 1987 before a medical board approved it on 24 January 1990. The theologians also approved the cause on 18 May 1990 as did the CCS on 23 October 1990 while John Paul II issued his definitive approval for it on 22 January 1991. The pope beatified Kolping on 27 October 1991 in Saint Peter's Square. Legacy Kolping’s personal witness and apostolate helped prepare for Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical "Rerum Novarum"—"On the Social Order". The first American branch of the Kolping Society began in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1856. As of 2021, there are branches in over thirty countries. The International Headquarters is located across the street from the Minoritenkirche. In 1932, the Detroit branch of the Kolping society established the Kolping Park and Chapel in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1996 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. References External links Saints SQPN Kolping 1813 births 1865 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians Catholic socialists Deaths from lung cancer 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests German beatified people Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni People from Kerpen Roman Catholic activists Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II