HOW DO SAINTS BECOME SAINTS? In all ages there have been Christians with a particular openness to the grace of God. From the very beginning, the Church sees such Christians as an example to others and declared them to be saints. Over the centuries, a special procedure developed to make sure that people considered saints really were holy. When the Church officially declares somebody a saint, we can be sure that person is in heaven. And that can be very useful to know, because it means we can ask the saint to pray for us (see Introduction; #TwGOD 4.15). After all, the saints in heaven are far closer to God than we are here on earth!
# CANONISATION Someone is declared a saint through the process of canonisation. Part of this process includes gathering objective evidence that somebody has lived a truly good and virtuous life. In addition, future saints need to have performed a miracle after death, as proof that they are interceding with God for us (see #TwGOD 4.18). Such a miracle is often the recovery of a person from a serious sickness, without there being any possible medical explanation for it. A commission of doctors and scientists critically examines such cases, because there must be no room for any doubt: the healing must be impossible to explain scientifically. On the basis of such evidence, the pope can decide to declare somebody a blessed or a saint.
STEPS TOWARD SAINTHOOD There are several steps to be taken in the process of being declared a saint: • First, a diocese or religious order puts together a file of evidence about the person proposed for canonisation. As soon as the file is accepted for an inquiry by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which is the official Vatican organisation tasked with these matters, the person under investigation becomes a servant of God (see #TwGOD 2.5). • If the evidence confirms that the person in question tried to live as a good Christian and led a life of heroic virtue, he or she is declared venerable. Note that there is no official date of liturgical celebration for servants of God and venerables. Therefore, in this book the date of their death has been indicated between square brackets as a possible future date of formal public veneration (if ever they will become blessed or a saint). • If a miracle happens through the intercession of the person declared venerable, the pope can decide to declare that person blessed, through an official liturgical celebration. On 19 October 2003, for example, Venerable Teresa of Calcutta was beatified. For martyrs, who died because of their faith, a miracle is not required. The liturgical celebration of a blessed is limited to a certain area of the world. • If yet another miracle happens, the case is put before the pope again, and he can then decide to declare the blessed person to be a saint, an example and an intercessor for all the Church. So, on 4 September 2016, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was canonised and became a saint. Saints are venerated publicly all around the world.
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From: M. Remery, Tweeting with GOD, Freedom Publishing Books 2017, Question 4.17.
b. Online with Saints UK edition.indb 22
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