Making saints: how does the canonisation process work?

It’s not uncommon to describe a particularly admirable person as a ‘living saint’. But what do we really mean when we call someone a ‘saint’, and how does a person come to be recognised as such by the Church?

The process for the proclamation of saints has developed significantly over Catholicism’s 2,000-year history.

In his book Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn’t, and Why (Touchstone), Religious historian and journalist Kenneth Woodward notes that ‘The mystery of sainthood and the canonisation process, with all its spiritual dimensions of divine intercession, relics and miracles, probably is the Church’s greatest enigma outside the Mass itself.’

The concept of honouring Christian men and women and developing cults to their memory started as a direct result of the Roman persecutions perpetrated on the early followers of Jesus. Public veneration of many of these martyrs, generally celebrated on the date of their death, was in evidence as early as the second century. While Christians regarded all the baptised as saints, dying for the faith was particularly noteworthy and was awarded with special veneration.

Sanctity and martyrdom were virtually indistinguishable in the Christian consciousness. As Jesus died obedient to the Father, so the saints died for and in obedience to Christ.

The medieval period of Church history saw a significant centralisation of the procedures for declaring martyrs and men and women of heroic virtue as saints.

Before long, cults to individual saints, almost exclusively local in nature, arose. This was a period of popular canonisation, when spontaneous reputation for sanctity could lead to sainthood. There were generally no inquiries, tribunals or judgments concerning saints; rather the martyrs were denoted as saints by public acclamation.

The medieval period of Church history saw a significant centralisation of the procedures for declaring martyrs and men and women of heroic virtue as saints. Greater control was thought to be necessary to eliminate local abuses and move towards universal standards.

Centralisation of the canonisation process led to greater hierarchical control and, consequently, a more formalised process. The basic procedure began when a cult arose from the people. This was based not only on miracles but holiness of life. The greater the authority of the Church official who performed the rights of ‘elevatio’ and ‘translatio’, the more God was glorified and the more the saint was recognised. This was the initial reason why bishops often requested the intervention of the pope to formally proclaim someone a saint. In turn, papal confirmation accentuated the pope’s authority.

The shift to a more centralised canonisation process brought a consequent change in the types of people who were canonised. Members of religious orders and royal houses in favour with a particular pope were given priority. Most notable was the obvious diminution of martyrdom as the litmus test for sainthood.

Servants of God who combined radical poverty, chastity and obedience, such as Francis of Assisi (canonised only two years after his death), were favoured. Learned clerics—such as St Dominic, canonised in 1234, and Thomas Aquinas, canonised in 1323—were another favoured category.

The centralisation of the canonisation process continued apace throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. During the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII (1623–44), the papacy gained complete control of the declaration of saints. One of Pope Urban’s decrees forbade any form of public veneration, including the publication of books of miracles or revelations attributed to a supposed saint, until the person was beatified or canonised by solemn papal declaration.

His one exception was if a cult had existed ‘from time immemorial’ or could be justified on the strength of what the Church fathers or saints had written about the individual.

When the Code of Canon Law was published in 1917, the canonisation process became even more formal through codification, with 143 canons dealing with beatification and canonisation. Canonisation now involved a definitive and solemn declaration by the pope that a Catholic Christian was actually in the glory of heaven, interceding for humanity before God, while the two categories of martyrdom and heroic virtue continued to be the avenues a person could traverse to be declared a saint.

The procedures defined by the 1917 Code of Canon Law remained in place until Pope Paul VI modified them in March 1969 in his motu proprio Sanctitas clarior, simplifying the norms for beatification. Instead of repeating the informative process on both episcopal and Roman levels, the pope called for the diocesan bishop to initiate the process once it received approval of the Holy See.

Similarly, there was to be only one process to investigate the Servant of God’s writings, life of virtue or martyrdom, and absence of a public cult. The bishop was also allowed to investigate purported miracles once he had received instructions from the Sacred Congregation of Rites on how to proceed. These changes greatly simplified the process.

While the canonisation process has seen significant development over time, the work of St John Paul II (r. 1978–2005) not only produced the largest number of beatified and canonised individuals of any papacy in history, but also further streamlined the canonisation process, with a comprehensively revised and simplified system introduced in 1983.

Divinus perfectionis Magister transformed the process from a trial to an investigation.

That year, an updated Code of Canon Law was promulgated with only one canon (1403) dealing directly with the process of beatification and canonisation. The major change came on 25 January 1983, when St John Paul issued the apostolic constitution Divinus perfectionis Magister. While maintaining continuity of purpose, the consistituion thoroughly reformed the entire canonization process, making it simpler, faster, less expensive, more collegial and, ultimately, more productive.

There were two fundamental changes: First, the entire responsibility for gathering evidence in support of a cause was placed in the hands of the local bishop, creating one canonical process, directed by the local bishop, instead of two.

Second, Divinus perfectionis Magister abolished the previous series of legal interactions between the postulator and the Promoter of the Faith. Instead, a new group of officials, ‘the college of relators’, supervised the writing of a historical-critical account of the candidate’s life and virtues, transforming the process from a trial to an investigation.

The criteria for initiation of a cause were also modified, with the 50-year waiting period being reduced to five years, although even this could be waived by the pope for pastoral reasons. Additionally, the cause was not to be introduced unless there existed a spontaneous, genuine and broadly held acclamation among the faithful that the servant of God was in heaven, either through an active martyrdom or because of living life in a heroic manner, over and above the actions of upright men and women.

Today, as a result of St John Paul’s changes, the process of canonisation proceeds in three phases. It begins with the institution of a diocesan inquiry, which consists of a series of investigations initiated by a competent diocesan bishop who wishes to raise a cause of canonisation. The goal of this inquiry it to collect information concerning the life, heroic virtue, reputation of sanctity or martyrdom of the servant of God, as well as proof of any possible miracles.

The celebration of those recognised as saints is an integral part of the Church’s liturgical life, and canonised saints are celebrated throughout the liturgical year.

Second, after the information has been collected, it is sent to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, presided over by a cardinal prefect, which conducts a study of the case, concluding with the preparation of the ‘positio’. Last, the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints discusses and passes judgment on the merits of the cause, leading, with the approval of the pope, to beatification or canonisation.

In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued Sanctorum Mater (Instruction for Conducting Diocesan or Eparchial Inquiries in the Causes of Saints), which clarified the rationale for canonisation. Heroic virtue, reputation for holiness and martyrdom were the three principal criteria for investigation of a cause.

The document also provides greater clarity on the role and duties of the postulator, stating that he or she should be an expert in theology, canon law and history, as well as understanding the work of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Causes of the Saints.

The saints become an almost daily example of the qualities every follower of Jesus Christ should seek.

The celebration of those recognised as saints is an integral part of the Church’s liturgical life, and canonised saints are celebrated throughout the liturgical year.

Depending on several factors, including the significance of the saint in Church history and tradition, saints have been assigned a certain day as their ‘feast’ day. Each saint is assigned a celebration from a hierarchy that includes (from greatest to least) solemnities, feasts, obligatory memorials or optional memorials. In each case, specific prayers pertinent to the saint’s life and work are used in the celebration of Mass and the daily recitation of the Divine Office. In this way, the saints become an almost daily example of the qualities every follower of Jesus Christ should seek.