How are saints canonized in the Catholic Church?

The four stages

The current Catholic canonization process, governed by the apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister of Pope Saint John Paul II (1983), proceeds through four formal stages.¹

1. Servant of God

The process begins at least five years after the death of the candidate (a waiting period that may be waived by the Pope, as in the cases of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Pope Saint John Paul II himself). The local bishop opens a cause and conducts an initial diocesan investigation: the writings, the witness of life, the reputation for sanctity. If the investigation is favorable, the candidate receives the title Servant of God.

2. Venerable

The case is forwarded to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome (formerly the Congregation). The dicastery evaluates the Positio (the formal dossier of evidence) and submits it to the Pope. If the Pope is satisfied that the candidate lived the Christian virtues to a heroic degree (or, in the case of martyrs, that the death was a true martyrdom for the faith), he issues a decree declaring the candidate Venerable. This title affirms the heroic virtue but does not yet permit public veneration.

3. Blessed (Beatification)

For beatification, a miracle attributed to the intercession of the candidate (after his or her death) must be verified by the Dicastery. The miracle is typically a medically inexplicable healing, examined by a panel of physicians for natural explanations, and only declared miraculous when no natural cause can be identified. Once the miracle is approved, the Pope issues the decree of beatification, conferring the title Blessed and permitting public veneration in a particular geographic region or religious order.

Martyrs may be beatified without a verified miracle: the martyrdom itself is taken as the sign of God's pleasure.

4. Saint (Canonization)

For canonization, a second verified miracle (typically occurring after the beatification) is required. When this miracle is approved, the Pope canonizes the Blessed in a solemn liturgical ceremony, typically at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. The act of canonization is held by Catholic theology to be infallible: the Pope solemnly declares that the canonized person is in heaven, and orders the universal Church to venerate him or her.²

Equipollent canonization

In rare cases, the Pope may dispense with the formal procedure and simply equate a candidate with the canonized through what is called equipollent canonization (canonization by equivalence). This is reserved for candidates whose ancient and continuous veneration in the Church is considered to substitute for the formal process. Pope Francis equipollently canonized Saint Peter Faber, Saint Anglicus of Pisa, and several others.

What canonization does and does not say

Canonization affirms that the saint is in heaven and that his or her life was lived in conformity with the Catholic faith. It does not affirm that every word the saint wrote was correct, or that every action of the saint was wise or admirable in the sense of universally exemplary. The Catholic faithful invoke the intercession of the canonized saints (see Communion of Saints).

For biographies of canonized saints, see the saints hub. For the related question of the canonical distinction between the third and fourth stages, see What is the difference between a Saint and a Blessed?.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Pope Saint John Paul II, apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister (January 25, 1983), reforming the canonization process. ↩

2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 828, on canonization. ↩