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Offerton 

Stockport 

Cheshire 

SK2 5LB 

Making Saints

What is a Saint?

We tend to think of saints as very special people and quite rare. This is far from the truth, though, since all baptised people are called to be saints or “holy” as the word really means. So we hear St Paul referring to people he met on his travels as the “saints” since they have been called to holiness. In fact, some evangelical and Pentecostal Churches today refer to their members as the saints. In fact, we all know of men and women who have died and who most people would call saints. These are the multitude of people who did their best honestly and sincerely to follow what they saw to be the will of God in their lives. In fact, the custom of officially declaring people to be saints only dates from 1588 when Pope Sixtus V set up a body in Rome to supervise the process of making saints (or more correctly, declaring people to be saints). Before this it was usually by popular acclaim that a person was recognised as being a saint. “Spontaneous local attribution” was the phrase used, but in reality it simply meant that everyone knew of the sanctity of the individual. So a saint is someone who is now in heaven and who lived a life of great heroic charity and is worthy of being imitated.

Rank and File?

In the modern-day process of making saints there are three levels of people who are on their way to sainthood. These levels begin once a “cause” has been submitted to the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints. A candidate becomes “Venerable,” then “Blessed” and then “Saint.” Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognised formally by the pope as having lived heroic virtues. To be beatified and recognised as a Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or martyrdom. Canonisation requires a second miracle after beatification, though a pope may waive these requirements. (A miracle is not required prior to a martyr’s beatification, but one is required before canonisation.). By miracle the Church means an event that can be witnessed by the senses but is in apparent contradiction to the laws of nature. The Church recognises authentic miracles as a divine intervention in the sensible world.

Did you know that Pope John Paul II created more Blesseds and Saints than any of his predecessors? In total he created over 1,300 Blesseds and around 500 Saints!

Early Stages

Five years must pass from the time of a candidate’s death before a cause may begin. This is to ensure greater balance and objectivity in evaluating the case and to let the emotions of the moment dissipate. The bishop of the diocese in which the person died is responsible for beginning the investigation into what is known as the heroic virtues of the person. The diocese, parish, religious congregation, or association asking for a cause to be opened, known as the petitioner, asks the bishop through a person known as the postulator to open the investigation. Once Rome has granted permission, a diocesan tribunal is formed and witnesses give an account of the person’s life and writings. Nine theologians in Rome examine the final report (called a positio) and they give their vote. If the majority of the theologians are in favour, the cause is passed on for examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the Congregation. They hold meetings twice a month. If their judgment is favourable, the Prefect of the Congregation presents the results of the entire course of the cause to the pope, who gives his approval and authorises the congregation to draft a decree that sets the Venerable on their way to beatification.

Beatification

For the beatification of a Venerable (also known as a Servant of God), a miracle attributed to his or her intercession, verified after death, is necessary. The required miracle must be proven through the appropriate canonical investigation, following a procedure analogous to that for heroic virtues. This investigation too is concluded with the appropriate decree. Once the two decrees are promulgated (regarding the heroic virtues or martyrdom and the miracle) the pope decides on beatification, which is the concession of limited public veneration – usually only in the diocese, region, or religious community in which the Servant of God lived. With beatification the candidate receives the titled of Blessed.

Canonisation

For canonisation another miracle is needed, attributed to the intercession of the Blessed and occurring after his or her beatification. The methods for affirming the miracle are the same as those followed for beatification. Canonisation is understood as the concession and requirement of public veneration in the Universal Church. With canonisation, the Blessed acquires the title of Saint. Canonisations usually take place in Rome at St Peter’s Basilica and the person whose journey began many years earlier and passed through the stages of Venerable and Blessed to that of Saint is now publicly proclaimed as such and offered to the Universal Church for imitation and veneration.