The Vatican has given its permission to start an inquiry on the possible sainthood of a 13-year-old Filipina Niña Ruiz Abad.

According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints granted the "nihil obstat" (nothing stands in the way), allowing the Diocese of Laoag to conduct a local inquiry into the reputation and sanctity of Abad.

This indicates that Bishop Renato Mayugba of Laoag as the competent authority to initiate the diocesan process to start the investigation.

"Lætare!” (Rejoice) to the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the diocese, as the Vatican judged that nothing stands in the way of the diocesan inquiry into the life of sanctity and heroic virtues of the 'Servant of God,'" Mayugba announced in a circular dated 10 March.

After securing overwhelming support from the CBCP during the July assembly in 2023, Mayugba submitted a detailed biography of Abad to the Vatican dicastery and petitioned for permission to begin his probe.

According to the CBCP, the granting of the nihil obstat by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for the start of the diocesan inquiry is among the necessary stages in the preliminary phase of a cause.

Mayugba also announced that on 7 April, Divine Mercy Sunday, the Beatification and Canonization Cause of Abad will be official with the first session of the tribunal specially convened for this purpose.

The session, which will be held at St. William's Cathedral Church in Laoag, will be open to the public.

While awaiting the designated day for the opening of the Cause, Mayugba urged the faithful "to pray for God's blessing as we embark on this process."

Abad, the young girl from Sarrat, passed away at the age of 13 in 1993 from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an incurable cardiac disease.

She was described as having a strong devotion to the Eucharist and devoted her life to distributing rosaries, Bibles, prayer books, holy images, and other religious items.

Born on 31 October 1979 at Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City, Abad was baptized at Santo Domingo Church on 15 March 1980. CPCB said she was a child of a lawyer couple from Sarrat, but her father died when she was three.

"Her unwavering Catholic faith made her an inspiration to numerous people in the Ilocos Norte province, as well as in the neighborhood and school in Quezon City," CBCP noted.