What is the difference between a Saint and a Blessed?

The two titles in the canonization process

The titles Blessed and Saint mark two distinct stages in the Catholic process by which a deceased Catholic is recognized as worthy of public veneration. The full process passes through four stages: Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. For the full description of the process see How are saints canonized?.

What beatification (Blessed) confers

Beatification is the third stage. After the candidate has been declared Venerable (heroic virtue) and a verified miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession after death has been approved, the Pope beatifies the candidate. This act:

• Confers the title Blessed (in Latin, Beatus for a man, Beata for a woman; abbreviated Bl. before the name).
• Permits public veneration in a specified geographic region (typically the diocese where the cause was opened) or in a specified religious order.
• Permits the celebration of a Mass and Office in the liturgical calendar of that region or order.

A Blessed is not yet venerated by the universal Church. The Mass and Office are not added to the universal Roman Calendar.

What canonization (Saint) confers

Canonization is the fourth and final stage. After a second verified miracle (typically occurring after the beatification), the Pope canonizes the Blessed. This act:

• Confers the title Saint (in Latin, Sanctus / Sancta; abbreviated St. before the name).
• Mandates public veneration by the universal Church.
• Permits inclusion in the General Roman Calendar (though not all canonized saints receive a universal feast day; many are observed only as optional memorials, while some are confined to particular calendars).
• Permits the dedication of churches and altars to the saint.

Catholic theology holds that the act of canonization is infallible: when the Pope solemnly canonizes a Blessed, he is exercising his charism of universal teaching and is preserved from error in the declaration that the canonized person is in heaven.¹

Practical observable differences

For the lay Catholic the differences are visible in several places:

• Title before the name. "Blessed John Henry Newman" before October 13, 2019 (the date of his canonization); "Saint John Henry Newman" thereafter.
• Universal feast day. A Blessed may have a feast day in the calendar of his or her diocese or order, but not in the universal calendar; a Saint may have a feast day in the universal calendar.
• Dedication of churches. Catholic churches may be formally dedicated to a Saint, but ordinarily not to a Blessed (a chapel within a church may bear a Blessed's name).
• Liturgical color of vestments. Mass for a Saint or Blessed who was a martyr is celebrated in red; for one who was not a martyr, in white.

Why the distinction is preserved

The two-stage process (beatification then canonization, with two verified miracles required across them) reflects the Catholic Church's deliberate caution. Each verified miracle is taken as a divine confirmation that the candidate is, in fact, in the state of heavenly glory. The double confirmation, with the formal diocesan and Roman investigations interposed, is the safeguard.

For more on the canonization process, see How are saints canonized?. For the related distinction between titles of theological eminence, see What is a Doctor of the Church?.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Pope Benedict XIV, De Servorum Dei Beatificatione et Beatorum Canonizatione (1734-1738), the classic theological treatment of canonization. See also Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 828 and 957. ↩