The Process of Sainthood By Cheryl Dickow

There are saints with a capital “S” and there are saints with a lower case “s.” Those who have proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Savior are, in one way or another all considered saints with a lower case “s.” Here, however, we are looking at the upper case Saints: those who are now called “Friends of God.” Again, this is a phrase that literally takes it to the next level as all believers are, in a sense, friends of God.

The distinction in the Catholic Church is interesting - no different, really, than the “righteous ones” of the Jewish faith. For instance, in the Jewish faith it is understood that Noah is called “righteous for his generation” which using our vernacular would be translated into a lower case “s” saint. Moses, on the other hand, is righteous for all generations - the uppercase “S” Saint status in our terminology.

Let Everything Come to Light

Dr. Seuss wrote a wonderful book of wisdom called The Waiting Place which reflects on waiting and the insights gathered therein. The process of beatification begins in just such a place: waiting—typically for five years although that can be waived in some circumstances and has been for two truly people in our lifetime (Mother Teresa of Calcutta and John Paul II). The point of waiting is to let everything come to light - to not rush into assigning the lofty title of “Friend of God” in a random or haphazard way. Waiting allows all facts to surface.

After this waiting period (all or some if waived), the Holy See is petitioned to get the process underway. If there are no objections which could come from a few different sources like the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the person is deemed a “Servant of God” in the bigger sense of the phrase - think Mother Teresa of Calcutta or John Paul II for proper context.

The Cause

Now the process is officially underway and the life of the Servant of God is scrutinized. The testimony is gathered, any writings he or she may have kept or shared are read with great care. The depth of examination taking place tends to make this part of the process very lengthy, often lasting years, and ends with full documentation being offered to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

This warrants a special person being assigned to oversee the remainder of the process - this person is called the relator. The relator makes sure that all the documentation is as it should be so that a hierarchical voting process can be done which, if resulting in the affirmation of the Cause, will result in the recommendation to the Holy Father whose vote on the matter is final. The Holy Father’s vote for the Cause results in the title Venerable being given to the individual - for instance, Venerable John Paul II.

A Miracle

Now the rubber hits the road, this is where the proof is in the pudding. There must be a miracle attributed to the Venerable: evidence that this person is, indeed, with God in heaven.

The miracle put forth is done so by the diocese in which the miracle took place. It is, itself, highly scrutinized and must be deemed without a natural explanation. In the case of John Paul II - although a bit different because of the waiving of the “waiting” period - a miracle attributed to him is the unexplainable curing of a cerebral aneurism. Part of the determination if the miracle will be credited to the Venerable is if all those involved were only praying for the Venerable’s intercession. In other words, they weren’t praying for the intercession of Mary or Archangel Raphael and so on.

Once the miracle is recognized by the Holy Father, the Venerable is called Bblessed. Venerable John Paul II becomes Blessed John Paul II and, according to Church teaching, Catholics are able to privately venerate the Blessed. Public veneration is still prohibited because in the normal timeline of this Canonization process, a second miracle is still needed.

The Second Miracle

The second miracle of the Blessed goes through the same process as the first, clearly showing that the Church does not take lightly the assignment of such a status to any person. However, it is important to note that the Catholic Church recognizes red martyrs (those who died a bloody death in the name of Christ) as having acted with a special grace and may not require miracles being attributed to the individual for beatification to take place.

After the second miracle has been scrutinized and accepted as authentic, canonization is able to take place. The Holy Father, during the Rite of Canonization, essentially decrees that the individual is worthy of imitation by the flock and is understood to be with God in heaven.

The Canonization of John Paul II will take place April 27, 2014 along with the Canonization of Pope John XXIII.