Canonized Saints: Why? How?

A theologian once explained this as an honor role of those we might imitate.  There is a need for people to model their lives after someone, so canonized saints give us those to whom we can look up to.

Of course we have patron saints, those people in certain occupations look up to, or those who people with certain causes look to.  Countries might have a patron saint for the citizens of that country to have a closeness with.

According to Catholic Online it is the local bishop who is first approached.  The person to be considered must have been virtuous, except for a martyr, and follow the orthodoxy of doctrine.  The bishop may then send the cause on to a panel of theologians at the Vatican, if the bishop is inclined to do so.  The person is first considered venerable.  This normally has a waiting period of at least five years after the person being considered has died.  This removed much f the emotional appeal and makes the decisions more objective.

The next step is proof of a miracle that occurred as the result of intersection by the candidate.  To clarify things here, people pray in adoration only to God, but may offer prayers of petition through saints and those who are at least venerable in the hope that the petitioned  intercedes with God on their behalf.  Care must be taken here, for if a new medical technique is being tried, or if the petitioner also prays to God Himself or a canonized saint the miracle would not be ascribed to the candidate for sainthood. There must be no other possible explanation of the miracle, and no other petitioned for the miracle.

If the person who has been declared venerable can be shown responsible for successfully interceding with God for a miracle, except for martyrs, the person is considered to be beatified.  The process continues requiring a second miracle, then the candidate is presented to the Pope, and only the Pope can canonize.  Because the process carries infallibility the Pope can either accept or deny the candidate.  The infallibility of the Pope only applies to when he speaks officially on matters of faith or morals, but canonization is considered one of those times.

Actually, only God can make a saint, the above process merely recognizes what God has done.

The above has been the process since the tenth century.  In older days the local bishop, or sometimes a local priest, would simply proclaim a person to be a saint.  These actions were not valid canonizations.  However, some of those so named as saints have been quite successful as intermediaries with God.  So, the Pope can canonize such a person with no additional need for proof, if he chooses to do so.  Many saints have come from the many candidates named in the first nine or so centuries.  Indeed, who would argue with canonization of the eleven faithful Apostles?  Of course, many local people accepted early in the Church’s history did not become canonized.

The website for The Orthodox Church in America provides the information on the process.  Simply stated, the Orthodox Church went its separate ways before the tenth century, and reorganization of the Pope as infallible was a sticky point.  While there is a Patriarch, he has less authority.  The method used in more in line with the method the Roman Catholic Church used before formally establishing rules for canonization.  It is actually several bishops who work together to canonize in the Orthodox Church and there is no miracle requirement.

The Anglican Church was not separated from the Roman Catholic Church when the rules for canonization were established in the tenth century.  So, if accepted many canonized saints who were already canonized at the time it separated from the Roman Catholic Church.  One person was unofficially added to the Anglican Church, Charles I.

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