For those not familiar with the Catholic Church’s canonization process, it is quite extensive and involves many stages of inquiry before an individual is recognized as a saint. Although some canonizations have moved along quite quickly, most do not. It is not uncommon for the process to be completed decades, if not centuries, after the death of the candidate. As of the launch of American Saints and Causes, about 60% of the open causes for candidates from the United States were only started in the past couple of decades. Therefore, every progression along the path to sainthood is a reason to celebrate! Many devoted volunteers for a cause work knowing that they may only get to enjoy a canonization celebration from heaven.
At a high level, the canonization process is typically divided into four stages: Servant of God; Venerable; Blessed; and Saint. Investigations into the life and virtues of a candidate for sainthood are done both at the local diocesan level and in Rome. Depending on the circumstances, both of a candidate’s life and of any proposed medical miracles, many dioceses may in fact participate, in some fashion, in the investigation.
Servant of God: this is the first phase of the process. No sooner than five years after an individual’s death (unless waived by Rome) the bishop of the diocese in which the candidate died may open up a cause to investigate the merits of seeking a declaration of sainthood. Although the diocese in which the individual died is by default the competent jurisdiction, the cause can be transferred by agreement to a different diocese, which may happen because of a greater connection of that diocese to the candidate or even for financial reasons. The bishop will launch tribunals and make an investigation into the life of the candidate, interviewing witnesses and reviewing writings of the candidate. At some point the bishop will consult with Rome and seek a declaration that Rome has nothing in its files that would preclude the opening of the cause. As part of opening the cause, the bishop will bestow the title Servant of God on the candidate. On American Saints and Causes, we have tried our best to use a consistent methodology for determining the date an individual was declared a Servant of God, but it is difficult. Information on when Rome issued a Nihil Obstat can be difficult to come by, and not all causes record these details with precision. You may see some variance in the data and other sources, but we have done our best to present what we believe is most accurate.
Venerable: when the local investigation closes, the bishop will send the findings and a collection of materials to Rome and the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. From there a positio will be written about the candidate by a postulator. The positio is a document that is a biography of the candidate and presents the case for sainthood. Once completed, the positio is reviewed by a panel of theologians, who make a recommendation, and then by the Congregation’s bishops. If the Congregation finds in favor of the positio, the decision is then presented to the Pope for his ultimate determination. Presently, there are three types of sainthood causes:
If the Pope issues a decree recognizing the candidate’s Life of Heroic Virtue or Offer of Life, the title Venerable is bestowed on the individual. (Although today, that title is more a matter of tradition than a formal step under canon law of the process of canonization.) If the Pope issues a decree recognizing the candidate’s Martyrdom, the individual will be beatified (see below), skipping the Venerable stage. As a Venerable, the individual is only a miracle away from beatification. No feast day is yet assigned to the individual.
Blessed: a sainthood candidate is beatified after the Pope either issues a decree recognizing a Servant of God’s Martyrdom or a decree recognizing a miracle attributable to the intercession of a Venerable. Starting under Pope Benedict XVI, the tradition of holding beatifications in the country and diocese associated with the sainthood cause was restored. For miracles, the Church focuses typically on medical miracles and conducts extensive evaluations to determine if they are instantaneous, complete, unexplainable by natural means, and whether requests for intercession were limited to those made to the sainthood candidate. As with other stages of the process, the investigation into an alleged miracle begins with tribunals at the local level, then evaluations in Rome by a panel of medical experts and the Congregation before a recommendation is presented to the Pope. The feast day and other acts of public veneration of a Blessed can be recognized in a limited way, usually only within the dioceses or religious insittutes most connected to the life of the Blessed. As careful of a process as the Church follows, beatification is not considered an infallible act of the Pope, so broader public veneration of the individual throughout the universal Church must await a declaration of sainthood.
Saint: canonization as a saint typically occurs for a Blessed after a second decree recognizing a medical miracle. Once the Church recognizes an individual as a saint, veneration can be made for that individual throughout the universal Church. Depending on the situation, the saint's feast day could be added to the general liturgical calendar or instead to national ones.
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