Canonization Process

On Sunday, April 27 2014, Blessed Pope John XXIII and Blessed Pope John Paul II will be canonized (become official saints). Canonized saints are those people who the Church believes are in heaven. These are the people we try to imitate and who we ask to intercede for us when we need God’s help.

In the early Church many Christians died for their faith so it was easy to identify who was a saint. All martyrs go to heaven so those who died rather than deny Jesus were considered a saint. Sometimes person who was considered especially virtuous would be considered a saint in a particular region but that wouldn’t necessarily mean the whole Church would consider that person a saint. Although there were some instances where that would happen.

As the Church grew it became aware that it had to be careful about how it handled the investigations that would take place before someone could be named a saint. Beginning around the year 1,000 the Church began to look into all aspects of a candidate for sainthood life. People are interviewed, if the candidate wrote things they are all read, prayer for guidance is an integral part of the review. For some individuals it can takes a very long time. The Church does not want to make a mistake, so it really tries to take all things into consideration even when the popularity of a person may seem to make him or her a shoe in.

What is this process like? The Church has a waiting period of 5 years before the process for making a saint can begin. This is so the Church will not be influenced by any emotions surrounding a candidate’s death. The pope is the only person who can suspend this rule. So the first step is 5 years after a person’s death the diocese where the person lived would ask the Vatican for permission to begin a cause (the process for making a saint). If no one objects then the cause is begun. The candidate for sainthood is then called, doe example, Servant of God, Mary Alice Smith of wherever she is from i.e. Eau Claire.

The next step is becoming a venerable. This is up to the diocese that the candidate was living in. The diocese will conduct interviews to gain testimony from people who knew the candidate. They will look into all things he or she may have written even high school essays, a graduation speech, letters written and in this day and age e-mails will be sifted through. If after an extensive research into the person’s life the diocese finds the person to be a worthy candidate the findings are forwarded to the Vatican. Once they findings reach the Vatican there are several committees that must review them to see if the cause will stay active or will go no further. If it is determined to be an active cause the pope will make the final decision to declare the person “Venerable.” Then the person will be known as Venerable Mary Alice Smith.

The third step is being declared “Blessed.” To have this happen a miracle must be confirmed having taken place due to the candidate. That would show that the candidate is able to “intercede at the throne of God” (1) for the miracle to occur. To find out if a miracle truly did occur due to the intercession of the candidate the investigation begins in the diocese where the miracle occurred. It must be proven that there is not a natural way for the miracle to have taken place. The people who were praying for the miracle must testify that they had requested of the Venerable to intercede for them. Then a panel is put together consisting of theologians and scientists to confirm it was indeed a miracle. The findings of the panel are then sent to the Vatican. Then another committee must review the materials and give the pope a recommendation. If the recommendation is that the person be called “Blessed” and the pope agrees with that assessment then a ceremony is held to declare the candidate “Blessed.” The person would then be known as Blessed Mary Alice Smith.

The fourth and final step is the Declaration of Sainthood. Before a “Blessed” officially becomes a saint, “to be deemed really in heaven with God,” (2) a second miracle must be attributed to him or her and found to be authentic through the same process as for the first miracle. If the facts are found to be true and everything in the process is continuing then the pope may decide to put the candidate forward for canonization. “The ceremony at the Vatican does not make Blessed Mary Alice Smith a saint,” (3) it confirms that she already is a saint and is in heaven with God.

(1-3)Pflaum Gospel Weeklies, 2014, Canonization – Recognizing and Proclaiming a Saint