Church opens cause for the beatification of modernist heresiarch, Blondel

Opening of the cause for beatification of Maurice Blondel, "the philosopher of Aix" (1861-1949)

On 4 June 2025, at 6 p.m., in the Church of Saint John of Malta in Aix-en-Provence,

The Archbishop of Aix and Arles, Mgr. Christian Delarbre, will officially open the cause for beatification of Maurice Blondel (1861-1949), a renowned professor of philosophy at the University of Aix.

The beginning of a path to discern his sanctity

After an investigation and consultation with cardinals, bishops, theologians, and various Roman congregations, the cause is solemnly opened, proclaiming him a "servant." This process began a dozen years ago and will require many more steps before a possible beatification, or even canonization, which would lead to Maurice Blondel being proclaimed a saint by the Catholic Church.

A rather unusual idea, explained by philosopher Marie-Jeanne Coutagne, the Aix-based postulator of the cause: "This committed Christian, this family man, this high-flying, deeply democratic intellectual, seemed to me a possible figure of sainthood to propose today. Many contemporary saints are still clergymen and sometimes theologians, but very few are philosophers, and even fewer are metaphysicians. It was Blondel's specialists who encouraged me to embark on the adventure of the cause for beatification, which must be opened in the diocese where the potential saint died. Moreover, Blondel's philosophy is a thought in constant dialogue with faith, but in an original vein, close to the philosophies of conscience."

When he died on 4 June 1949, Maurice Blondel was considered above all a master, surrounded by students who formed what, along with Gaston Berger and Jacques Paliard, would become known as the "Aix School." But his Christian virtue is also evoked by a number of witnesses, including his former student Mgr Marius Chalve (1905-1979), head of the Miramas seminary and "Righteous Among the Nations."

The philosopher of "Action"—his masterpiece, which suggests the connection between metaphysics and Christianity—participated, along with Henri Bergson, in the revival of metaphysics at the beginning of the 20th century.

Blondel's philosophical goal can be summarized as follows: to highlight the synergy between the human and the divine, between reason and faith, in the concrete reality of everyday existence.

Source

Why this is such a bad idea is summarised in "Where is the New Theology leading us?" by Father Garrigou-Lagrange OP.    The charity of Pope St Pius X towards Blondel allowed this second wave of modernism to occur which led into and up to the Council.  He had the greatest influence of all the modernists because he avoided condemnation. 

For a very informative and more sympathetic approach see Twentieth Century Catholic theology and the Triumph of Maurice Blondel by William Portier.

See also New Theology, Inheritor of Modernism, Precursor of Vatican II.  The title is an admission of guilt.  The author is much more sympathetic to Blondel than I would be- but again very, very informative.

I am in entire agreement with Father Garrigou-Lagrange, Blondel's "way of immanence" has been an enormous solvent of Catholic Faith and practice.   It is a fundamental philosophical and theological break that occurred before the Council and has given the Council an illusion of continuity. 

Like the uncritical and excessive canonisations of post-Conciliar Popes, this canonisation is also a method of canonising the Council, attempting artificially to put what happened beyond criticism.