There are some important caveats that visitors to American Saints and Causes should know:
- This is a lay apostolate. While this site is maintained by individuals who love Christ and His Church, American Saints and Causes is not endorsed by or affiliated with any formal part of the Catholic Church or the Catholic bishops of the United States. Our content is prepared with the aim of reflecting the Church’s teaching, but we can make mistakes despite our best efforts. When we become aware of any, we will gladly correct our content.
- Our index may be incomplete or have inaccuracies. Our goal is to have the most comprehensive and up to date database of those men and women who have been canonized or are on their way. Despite the relative youth of the Catholic Church in the United States, already there are over 100 saints and causes. It may take time for news of new causes or developments to reach us and be incorporated into the site. If you have an official role with a cause, you can assist American Saints and Causes by contacting us through our email address or the Cause Submission or Correction Form and provide us with new or updated information.
- The outcome of the open causes is unknown. While there should be something good and true to be learned from every individual who is given the title Servant of God, the canonization process is a formal inquiry into a person’s life. Some causes may not advance, including because of questions and concerns raised during the process. We will use our best judgment in deciding which causes should be included in our index and when a cause should be removed. If you have concerns, just contact us. We will tend to err on retaining a listing until there is a definitive decision to close a cause, trusting readers to make use of the site’s information in a thoughtful and prudent way.
- Our focus is on causes sponsored by the dioceses within the 50 states of the United States, its major territories, or involving U.S. citizens. The United States has and has had many territories and possessions, some of which have saints and causes of their own. To keep our mission focused, we only include saints and causes from the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, places where individuals get automatic U.S. citizenship. For those saints and causes from before geographic boundaries of the United States were finalized, we will make our best judgment about whether to include them, deferring to local traditions if there are any. On occasion there may be a cause of an individual from another country who also had a deep connection to the United States. We will use our best judgment about whether to include that individual on American Saints and Causes, looking for indications of continued interest and connection between the Church in the United States and the individual.
