How canonization works

What canonization is

Canonization is the act by which the Pope declares that a person who has died lived a life of heroic holiness, is in heaven, and may be venerated by the whole Church as a Saint. The Church does not “make” saints: after careful examination, it recognises the holiness God has already worked in a person's life, and proposes that person as an example and an intercessor.

Today's procedure is set out in the apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1983, in the norms for diocesan inquiries issued the same year, and in the instruction Sanctorum Mater (2007), which explains in detail how a diocese conducts an inquiry. In Rome, causes are studied by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, called the Congregation for the Causes of Saints until Pope Francis's reform of the Roman Curia in 2022.

Who can open a cause

A cause starts with a reputation for holiness: people who knew the person, or who came to know them later, believe that they lived the Gospel in an exceptional way and pray for their intercession. Any member of the faithful, or a group such as a diocese, a parish, a religious institute or an association, can act as petitioner and ask for a cause to be opened. The petitioner appoints a postulator, who represents the cause and guides it through each stage.

The competent authority is normally the bishop of the diocese where the person died. Before opening a cause, the bishop must verify that the reputation for holiness is genuine and widespread, consult the bishops of his region, and ask the Holy See whether there is any objection: the nihil obstat. Once the cause is formally opened, the person receives the title “Servant of God”.

The five-year rule and its dispensations

As a rule, a cause cannot begin until at least five years after the person's death. The wait allows emotion to settle and shows whether the reputation for holiness endures. Only the Pope can dispense from it. John Paul II did so for Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose cause opened in 1999, two years after her death, and Benedict XVI did the same for John Paul II in 2005, weeks after his death.

There is also a check in the other direction: if a cause is begun more than thirty years after death, the bishop must establish why it was delayed, to exclude any suspicion of fraud or deception.

The diocesan inquiry

The first phase takes place in the diocese. A tribunal hears witnesses under oath, ideally people who knew the Servant of God personally, about their life, virtues and reputation for holiness. Theological censors examine everything the person published, and a historical commission gathers letters, diaries and other documents. Nothing is taken for granted: the inquiry must also record whatever might count against the cause.

When the inquiry is complete, its acts are sealed and sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which first checks that the diocesan process was conducted validly.

The positio and heroic virtue

In Rome, a relator of the Dicastery is assigned to the cause, and under his direction the postulator prepares the positio: a documented volume that presents the person's life and shows, on the basis of the evidence, that they practised the virtues to a heroic degree. Heroic virtue means the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, lived with exceptional constancy, readiness and joy, even in difficult circumstances.

The positio is examined by a panel of theological consultors (and, for older causes, by historical consultors), then by the cardinals and bishops who are members of the Dicastery. If their judgement is favourable, the Prefect reports to the Pope, who may authorise the decree on heroic virtues. From that moment the Servant of God is called “Venerable”.

Martyrdom

Martyrs follow a different path. Instead of heroic virtue, the cause must prove that the person was killed out of hatred for the faith (in odium fidei) and accepted death willingly, out of love for Christ. When the Pope approves a decree of martyrdom, the martyr can be beatified without a miracle. A miracle is normally still required for canonization.

The offering of life

In 2017 Pope Francis opened a third path with the apostolic letter Maiorem hac dilectionem, whose title quotes the words of Jesus: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down one's life for one's friends” (John 15:13). It concerns Christians who freely offered their life for others and, out of charity, accepted a certain and early death that followed directly from that offering, for example by staying to care for the sick during an epidemic. The person must also have lived the Christian virtues, at least to an ordinary degree, until death, and enjoy a reputation for holiness. Unlike martyrdom, the offering of life requires a miracle for beatification.

Miracles

Except for martyrs, beatification normally requires one miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable, and canonization a second miracle that took place after beatification. Most miracles examined are healings. A board of medical experts first studies whether the healing was complete, lasting, rapid and inexplicable by medical science; theologians then examine whether it followed from prayer addressed specifically to the candidate; finally the cardinals and bishops give their opinion and the Pope decides.

A miracle is not a reward for popularity: the Church treats it as a sign from God confirming its judgement. The Pope can dispense from the second miracle for canonization, as Pope Francis did when he canonized John XXIII in 2014.

Beatification and canonization

Beatification allows the public veneration of a Blessed in a particular place or community (a diocese, a country or a religious family) with a feast day in its calendar. Since 2005, beatifications are normally celebrated in the local Church by a cardinal representing the Pope.

Canonization extends veneration to the whole Church. The Pope himself proclaims the new Saint, usually in Rome, and the Saint may be honoured everywhere, with churches dedicated to them and a place in the liturgical calendar.

Equipollent canonization

Not every Saint has gone through the full modern procedure. In an equipollent (equivalent) canonization, the Pope extends to the universal Church the cult of a person venerated for a long time, once historians have confirmed the person's virtues and the constancy of the devotion. Benedict XVI used it for Hildegard of Bingen in 2012, and Pope Francis for Angela of Foligno and Peter Faber in 2013. Something similar exists for beatification: the confirmation of an ancient cult.

How the faithful help a cause

Causes depend on ordinary people. The most important help is prayer: asking a Servant of God, a Venerable or a Blessed to intercede for your intentions, and praying for their beatification or canonization. This prayer must remain private until the Church allows public veneration; following the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, no one may receive public cult, such as feast days, Masses in their honour or images with a halo above an altar, before beatification.

If you believe you have received a grace or a healing through someone's intercession, write it down with dates and details and send it to the postulation of the cause; a possible healing needs medical documentation. Many causes also depend on donations to pay for research, travel and the printing of the positio. Every hero's page on MyHolyHero shows the stage of their cause and offers a prayer for private devotion.

Church documents mentioned

• Divinus Perfectionis Magister, apostolic constitution of Pope John Paul II (1983)
• Normae servandae in inquisitionibus ab Episcopis faciendis in Causis Sanctorum (1983)
• Sanctorum Mater, instruction of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (2007)
• Maiorem hac dilectionem, apostolic letter of Pope Francis (2017)
• Praedicate Evangelium, apostolic constitution of Pope Francis on the Roman Curia (2022)