The Glorification of St Olga of Alaska - A model for the eventual glorification of Blessed Father Seraphim Rose (and others)

The ranks of the Saints of North America could grow even more over the coming years, if their popular veneration and the sharing of their lives and intercessions continues to take root and spread.

From an Anchorage Daily News article, the following observations about St Olga provide a classic example of local veneration by the faithful leading to glorification by the universal Church, and apply equally well to the cause for the glorification of Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim of Platina, and other righteous ones of North America:

“People were painting icons of her, as if she were already a saint,” said The Most Reverend Daniel, Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest, who was the chair of the canonization committee.

In 2023, the Orthodox Church in America’s national leadership voted to make Matushka Olga a saint. To Alaskans, especially, the decision to formally recognize Olga as a saint was a foregone conclusion, Archbishop Daniel said.

“The question I got was, well, what took you so long? ...  It was a grassroots veneration that began in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region and spread," he said.