How does someone qualify to be considered worthy of sainthood?

Question

I can understand Joan of Arc having been canonized, but can someone explain why Pope John Paul is being considered? I'm not Catholic, so I don't get these things!

Answer 1

Hi Ego Trip:

I'm a Catholic. I think I can help.

First off, it should be noted that the "cause for sainthood" does not make a person a saint. It just recognizes what God has already done in this person's life.

If a person (Catholic) has lived a very good life, after they pass away, their life will still be leading people by its example.

People who knew them, or knew OF them, will be living better lives due to what they learned from this person.

That would lead the local bishop to study the case. And if the case has merit, write a report and present it to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints at the Vatican.

Normally this portion can't even START until 50 years after their death. They must have that kind of "staying power." But there are special circumstances where the 50 years may be waived. As is the case with JPII. Poor Joan had to wait 500 years!!

If they "pass muster" for lack of a better term, they are deemed "Venerable."

We must have evidence that they are indeed IN heaven. This evidence comes in the form of a miracle. For instance the link below speaks of a French nun who says John Paul II interceded for her and obtained for her - healing from God.

After the first miracle, they are beatified.

After a second miracle they can be officially canonized.

It used to take three miracles. The first before the cause was launched.

For the most part, all of this is waived when the individual was a martyr. For instance, my name saint, Maximilian Mary Kolbe gave up his life in Auschwitz. See link below.

A martyr need not have miracles to obtain canonization.

EDIT: I'm adding a PS. I have a personal fascination with "the incorruptibles." Scripture states that God "will not let his beloved suffer decay." So Catholics have a habit of digging up their dead.

I believe one of the reasons Pope John Paul II requested a simple coffin over an air tight casket is was to test his true incorruptibility.

Since our Protestant brethren are not in the habit of digging up their dead to check for corpse rot, Medgar Evers is the only known Protestant incorruptible. He was killed by the KKK for speaking out on equality.

When is poor wife finally got a real trial, they had to dig him up for forensic evidence. They discovered his body completely intact. That is to say, Incorrupt!

Answer 2

Canonization, the process the Church uses to name a saint, has only been used since the tenth century. For hundreds of years, starting with the first martyrs of the early Church, saints were chosen by public acclaim. Though this was a more democratic way to recognize saints, some saints’ stories were distorted by legend and some supposed saints never existed. Gradually, the bishops and finally the Vatican took over authority for "approving" saints.

In 1983, Pope John Paul II made sweeping changes in the canonization procedure. The process begins after the death of a Catholic whom people regard as holy. Often, the process starts many years after death in order give perspective on the candidate. The local bishop investigates the candidate’s life and writings for heroic virtue (or martyrdom) and orthodoxy of doctrine. Then a panel of theologians at the Vatican evaluates the candidate. Upon the recommendation of the panel and cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the pope proclaims the candidate "venerable."

The next step, beatification, requires evidence of one miracle (except in the case of martyrs). Since miracles are considered proof that the person is in heaven and can intercede for us, the miracle must take place after the candidate’s death and as a result of a specific petition to the candidate. When the pope proclaims the candidate beatified or "blessed," the person can be venerated by a particular region or group of people for whom the person holds special importance.

After one more miracle the pope will canonize the saint (this includes martyrs as well). The title of saint tells us that the person lived a holy life, is in heaven, and is to be honored by the universal Church. Canonization does not "make" a person a saint; it recognizes what God has already done.

Though canonization is infallible and irrevocable, it takes a long time and a lot of effort. So while every person who is canonized is a saint, not every holy person has been canonized. You have probably known many "saints" in your life, and you are called by God to be one yourself.

Answer 3

The catholic church has to have an understanding that the person was really a Christian or not to call them a Saint. Depending on if God healed someone because of that persons prayer, or a miracle happened like someone was raised from the dead, etc... There are Christians, like Smith Wigglesworth who has prayed someone to come back from the dead, & they weren't even Christians, but turned to Christ after the experience. But since Smith Wiglesworth isn't a Catholic, the Catholics wouldn't cannonize Him a Saint. Even though he is obviously a highly anointed man of faith in God.

But God knows the Saint as soon as the person is born of God, born of His Spirit, cleansed by His Blood, Joint Heirs with Jesus, part of the family of God.

In the bible the word Saint & Holy are the same root word in the Greek. So, that is everyone redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.


I believe Pope John Paul was a Saint as soon as He confessed Jesus Christ His Lord & Savior. I don't believe the Pope ever fell away from his faith in Christ. So, him being considered worthy of sainthood in the Catholic Church isn't going to affect where he is in heaven. It will just affect the people on earth that he is considered a true Saint. The Pope made obvious mistakes about Mary Idols, but those mistakes were fried & didn't go to heaven with him.

Answer 4

Just live your life accordingly so that the majority of Catholics want and request that you be canonized or made a saint. The law states that one must have done two documented miracles. I have heard that this requirement is going to be waved because of the great demand by Catholics that he be a saint. It is more politics then it is spiritual...and you can take that to the bank.

Answer 5

To hold any human being above another is foolish. God is not a respecter of persons. "For there is none righteous no not one". "For all have come short of the glory of God". There are many other verses through-out the Bible that talk about this specific topic. No one is any better than anyone else!!!! Period! We are all sinners some of us have been saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, and some of us have not. The pope, the preacher, and anyone else you can think of is in the same boat as all of us. Don't let anyone tell ya any different!!!!

Answer 6

I used to be Catholic and this is how I understand it. Certain people are declared saints after their death when it can be assured that their souls are in heaven. The only way to prove this is if they intercede with something going on on Earth - that is, a miracle is performed in their name. I think there have to be two confirmed miracles in order for someone to pass the test. (It used to be three but standards are slipping, all over).

Once it is confirmed that they are in heaven, they can be declared a saint and then it is possible for people to pray to them and ask for help with things. Like they have an "in" with the Big Man.

Not what I believe, but as I understand the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Answer 7

They have a list of certain guidlines and quotas which the person must fall under to qualify to become a saint. It's a very strict list. Then if the person is qualified, they must also be voted upon by the Cardinals, from what I understand.

Answer 8

The word saint comes from the Greek word "hagios" which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious." It is almost always used in the plural, “saints.” "…Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem" (Acts 9:13). "Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda" (Acts 9:32). "And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons … “(Acts 26:10). There is only one instance of the singular use and that is "Greet every saint in Christ Jesus…" (Philippians 4:21). In Scripture there are 67 uses of the plural “saints” compared to only one use of the singular word “saint.” Even in that one instance, a plurality of saints is in view “…every saint…” (Philippians 4:21).

The idea of the word “saint” is a group of people set apart for the Lord and His kingdom. There are three references referring to godly character of saints; "that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints …" (Romans 16:2). "For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12). "But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints" (Ephesians 5:3).

Therefore, Scripturally speaking, the “saints” are the body of Christ, Christians, the church. All Christians are considered saints. All Christian are saints…and at the same time are called to be saints. 1 Corinthians 1:2 states it clearly, “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy…” The words “sanctified” and “holy” come from the same Greek root as the word that is commonly translated “saints.” Christians are saints by virtue of their connection with Jesus Christ. Christians are called to be saints, to increasingly allow their daily life to more closely match their position in Christ. This is the Biblical description and calling of the saints.

How does the Roman Catholic understanding of “saints” compare with the Biblical teaching? Not very well. In Roman Catholic theology, the saints are in Heaven. In the Bible, the saints are on earth. In Roman Catholic teaching, a person does not become a saint unless he/she is “beatified” or “canonized” by the Pope or prominent bishop. In the Bible, everyone who has received Jesus Christ by faith is a saint. In Roman Catholic practice, the saints are revered, prayed to, and in some instances, worshipped. In the Bible, saints are called to revere, worship, and pray to God alone.

Answer 9

Neither to the recommended he's merely pushing his political ideals mostly merely what each and every MSNBC instruct does .Itsboth to those that throughout basic terms desire to pay attention somebody say what they desire to pay attention. He is conscious his days are numbered however -look at his Carter years

Answer 10

One determines by using the Bible as their guide.