Catholics: What determines a saint?

Question

What determines if a person becomes an official saint in the catholic church?

From studying history I read that many saints in the past were part of weathy families of Europe so at one time did how much money you gave the church have anything to do with it. Or is it how much work you have done for the church -like Ms.Teresa( Mother Teresa in your faith)? How about the little old man who never missed mass, lived what he and his priest would say was a good life, and died without doing anything famous - are they not good enough to be a saint?

Answer 1

Before the formal canonization process began in the fifteenth century, many saints were proclaimed by popular approval. This was a much faster process but unfortunately many of the saints so named were based on legends, pagan mythology, or even other religions -- for example, the story of the Buddha traveled west to Europe and he was "converted" into a Catholic saint!

In 1969, the Church took a long look at all the saints on its calendar to see if there was historical evidence that that saint existed and lived a life of holiness. In taking that long look, the Church discovered that there was little proof that many "saints", including some very popular ones, ever lived. Christopher was one of the names that was determined to have a basis mostly in legend. Therefore Christopher (and others) were dropped from the universal calendar.

This action did not kick Christopher out of heaven. Remember everyone in heaven are saints whether the Church canonizes them or not.

Here is a link to the 1983 New Laws for the Causes of Saints: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_07021983_norme_en.html

Here is a link to the saints canonized during the tenure of Pope John Paul II: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_saints_en.html#

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

People are never considered a Saint until years....years after their death. The Catholic Church used to have what is called the "Devils Advocate." This was a person who literally played the devil's advocate. When someone was suggested for sainthood this devil's advocate would look for reasons why this person should not be considered a saint. To be proclaimed a saint, several things have to be presented to a group of persons including cardinals, priests, physicians, and scientists:

1) The person has to have excelled at least one virtue in particular : humility, obedience, liberality, temperance, chastity, dilligence, faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude.

2) After death, I believe at least 3 obvious miracles have to attributed to the intercession by prayer to this person. These miracles cannot be explained by nature or science. Often, the body of the person is exhumed from the grave many years later and is found to be incorrupt. (Still fresh as though the person had just died). Not all saints bodies are incorrupt. Sometimes only the mouth (if they had the gift of evangelism) or the ears (if they excelled in obedience) or the hands (if they gave to the poor) are found incorrupt. Sometimes after death the body will smell of roses. People sometimes will be cured of disabling diseases if they touch the tomb or body of the person.

We are all supposed to be saints. That is what we are made for. But not everyone is going to lead an heroic life like Mother Teresa. Some of us will be poor and ignorant. Some are housewives who never complain about their difficult circumstances. The best way for anyone to be a saint is to fulfill their state in life, whether married or unmarried to the best of their ability. We are first called to take care of our duties and then we are called to do other things. If I am an artist, I must be an artist for God's sake. I must paint pictures that will elivate peoples souls to Heaven....not necessarily religous pictures, but pictures that inspire attributes of God such as peace, joy, love, happiness, hope..etc. If I am a trash collector, I must collect trash for the love of God without complaining and do it to the best of my ability. That's how we become saints. We do everything for God and we keep his commandments. And when we transgress, we feel true sorry that we have offended God and we amend our life.

The Devil's Advocate was done away with after Vatican II, but Pope Benedict XVI is working to make the canonization process rigorous once again.

Answer 3

(what a bunch of moronic answers regarding molestation)

We are all saints when we die. So to be a saint you must live.

If you are refering to being a Canonized Saint read on:

The ancient process of attaining sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church has evolved gradually over the last thousand years or so. In the early years of the church, saints were chosen by public acclaim. But by the 10th century, Catholic bishops, and eventually the Vatican, assumed responsibility for the process.

Before someone can be declared a saint, the church requires that those putting forward the candidate follow a series of specified steps that have been laid down and subsequently modified over the centuries. Becoming a saint is not an easy or automatic process. Full canonization – the process leading to the declaration of sainthood – can often take decades or even centuries.

The move to have the late Pope John Paul II canonized quickly got an early boost from his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, who waived the five-year waiting period that would traditionally be required before the formal launch of proceedings.

It was John Paul who reformed the church’s Code of Canon Law in 1983, streamlining the process of attaining sainthood. For one thing, John Paul eliminated the so-called “Devil’s Advocate” position from the investigating process. This person’s job was to attack the evidence in favour of canonization.

The process of becoming a Catholic saint – steeped in faith, tradition and doctrine – now involves the following key steps:

The investigation

The process begins in the candidate’s own diocese, where a local bishop gives his approval to the start of an investigation into someone who is widely thought of as having “extraordinary” holiness. Normally, the investigation cannot start until five years after the death of a candidate. But, as already noted, that requirement can be waived by the reigning Pope, just as John Paul waived the five-year wait for Mother Teresa.

The beginning of the process – “the opening of the cause,” as it’s known – begins when the bishop launches an investigation into the candidate’s case. An advocate for the candidate is appointed. Called a postulator, this advocate examines the candidate’s life, his or her writings, teachings, acts of holiness, heroic acts and any other virtues that would indicate that the person being proposed for sainthood is truly worthy of such a declaration.

Once this process is underway, the candidate can be referred to as a “Servant of God.” Once sufficient information has been gathered, it is sent to the Vatican for further examination.

After the pertinent facts and testimonials are gathered, the postulator presents the evidence to a special panel of theologians and cardinals known as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The formal argument for the candidate’s canonization is then printed in a volume called the positio.

The Vatican panel examines the evidence, and if it judges the case to have merit, the reigning Pope will then proclaim the candidate as "Venerable" – meaning that the candidate is a role model of Catholic virtue.

Beatification

The next step towards sainthood is beatification. Before someone can be beatified, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints must verify a miracle. Many people believe that a candidate must be credited as being responsible for a miracle during their lifetime. In fact, the miracle must be posthumous – the miracle must be attributed to a person's intercession after his or her death.

And what constitutes a miracle? The New Catholic Encyclopedia defines a miracle as something “above the course of nature and beyond its productive powers” – an extraordinary event that is produced by God, acting through others, and verified by witnesses. Once beatified, the candidate is referred to with the title “Blessed,” as in the Blessed Mother Teresa, who was beatified in a 2003 ceremony.

Modern miracles typically involve some kind of unexpected recovery from an illness or condition that medicine cannot explain. This recovery would typically occur following the patient’s or family’s prayers to the candidate, or being placed near an image or medal of the person (as in Mother Teresa’s case).

There is one exception to the “one miracle” rule before beatification. A martyr – someone who died for their religious beliefs – can be beatified without evidence of a miracle.

Beatification allows the candidate to be honoured within his or her diocese, region or religious order. But for church-wide recognition, those proposing a candidate for canonization have more conditions to satisfy.

Canonization

Before someone can be canonized as a saint, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints must be presented with evidence of a second posthumous miracle. This miracle must be verified before the canonization can proceed and it must have occurred after the candidate’s beatification.

This final step to sainthood is not taken lightly – canonization is considered to be an infallible act of the Pope. That explains the rigorous process – there cannot be errors in the selection of saints. Sainthood is not revocable – there are no “former” saints.

Once canonized, the candidate is given the title “Saint,” usually shortened to the written designation “St.” preceding the person’s first name.

Answer 4

You must have witnessed miracles in the amount of three. There is a committee whose job it is to verify the existence of miracles performed by the proposed. First you must be beatified (I know I am spelling that wrong) which is either one or two miracles. It usually takes ten to twenty years for the Cardinals and Pope to agree on all the grounds of Sainthood. But always remember that the saints were nothing but conduits for the Lords use. His blessings be upon them.

Answer 5

A saint is someone who is in Heaven. The Church recognized saints as people it is sure are in Heaven. It holds the saints up as role models for other Christians who want to become saints too.

Answer 6

Once you have molested more than 50 boys
You become a saint.

Answer 7

Today they want a lot of proof of miracles happening and I believe there is a board who decides and on top of that board is the Pope.

Answer 8

I am not positive as I am not Catholic any more but I believe that three miracles have to be proven done by that individual.

Answer 9

You must preform 3 miracles..to be a saint...

Answer 10

proof of three miracles done by the person/miracles are mainly recovering from an unrecoverable diesease or something like that