Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli - Legacy

Legacy

Father Mazzuchelli is buried at Saint Patrick's Cemetery in Benton, Wisconsin. Over the years a case for elevating him to Sainthood has been pending with the church. In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Father Mazzuchelli Venerable, the first step in the process of elevating an individual to sainthood. In preparation for the 200th anniversary of Mazzuchelli's birth in November 2006, those campaigning for Mazzuchelli to be elevated to sainthood began a number of activities to draw attention to that particular cause. The Sinsinawa Dominican sisters have been particularly active in this campaign.

In August 2008, an official inquiry into a presumed miracle performed through the intercession of Mazzuchelli was completed in the Diocese of Madison. Robert Uselmann, a resident of Monona, Wisconsin had gone to Sinsinawa Mound with his family in 2001 to pray to Mazzuchelli for his intercession in curing him of cancer. While there he prayed with the sisters, using Mazzuchelli's penance chain. Uselmann later discovered that a cancerous tumor had disappeared from his lung.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino of the Diocese of Madison opened a diocesan tribunal at the request of the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters, which concluded its non-judgmental investigation and sent the results to Rome. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints is expected to make a ruling on the "presumed . miracle" sometime in the near future. If Uselmann's healing is judged miraculous, Mazzuchelli would be eligible for beatification, the next step in the process of naming a saint within the church.

In 2006 a new middle school built by the Holy Family Catholic School System in Dubuque was named after Mazzuchelli. The school opened for the 2006–2007 academic year.