Canonization: How Holy People Become Official "Saints"

The canonization Mass of Pope St. Pius X (that's Pope Pius XII in the picture)

Writing a resume can be a painful experience, especially for a Christian. Christians aren’t supposed to lie. Christians are supposed to be humble. Yet there you are, having to cram your personality and life’s accomplishments onto a page – to be judged often times by very worldly eyes, who might value what you do more than who you are. It’s a fine line you’re forced to tread between promoting yourself too much and admitting that your life or achievements to date might not be all that eye-catching in a secular sense.

Now I realize that many of you reading this have yet to experience the pain of writing your resume. You may, however, have gotten a taste of the “science” as you prepare your college applications.

I’ve written dozens of resumes over the years, mostly for other people. In college, it was almost my minor. Friends and roommates often came knocking asking me to help them put “better titles” to boring former jobs. My pen became a brush and their lives my palette. My roommate no longer served coffee – he was an “Alertness enhancement engineer.” My time spent waiting tables became known as “Culinary deployment specialist and state health department liaison for the eradication of food borne illnesses within family dining environments.”

(This might be a good time to note that I never said I was any good at writing resumes, as you can clearly see.)

Titles matter to employers but not to God. In fact, the only “title” God cares about for us is that we are His son or daughter. Beyond that, the only earthly “title” that would leave Heaven applauding would be that of a “saint.”

What makes a saint?

To be clear, the Church doesn’t “make someone” a saint. The Church recognizes the holiness of certain individuals and honors some with the title of “saint.”

The title of saint is conferred on someone after what is called the canonization process. The process was most formalized by Pope Alexander III in the 12^th century.  He restricted the prerogative of canonization to the Holy See (Vatican authority), meaning that the Church was the body that would officially declare someone “saint,” and not just their local community or country.

Canonization means ‘being raised to the full honors of the altar’. You can read more about this in the Catechism of the Catholic Church #828.

So nowadays, for instance, say that you had someone you wanted to suggest for sainthood. Here are the “steps” that would need to occur for that person to receive the “title:”

1. You and a group would send a report to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (a Vatican group).

2. That Congregation would research the candidate’s virtues and life to see if the person should be recommended or not.

3. The aforementioned report is then reviewed by the Holy Father. If the Pope accepts the report from the Congregation, the person in question is titled Venerable. Venerable means “accorded great respect due to heroic character.”

4. Once venerable there are several more steps in the process in which the person’s life is exhaustively researched and examined. If alive, witnesses are contacted who knew the deceased. Various people can come forward to raise objections. Debates can ensue and long discussions can be had.

Also, at least one miracle must occur and be directly attributed to that saint’s intercession to God.  Once that happens (if and when it does), the person is “beatified” in a ceremony by the Pope at St. Peter’s in Rome and declared Blessed.

5. After a period of time and another two miracles the “Blessed” will be recommended for canonization and named a Saint at a ceremony in Rome (although there have been some canonization ceremonies that took place outside of the Vatican – like in Korea in 1984).

Whether your life is ever investigated or a statue ever chiseled, the good news is that God has given us every opportunity to become saints in our everyday life. He’s given us the Sacraments to ensure we become holy, and the saints to offer a model of life and example of prayer. The only thing missing is your consent to allow the Holy Spirit to make you a saint.

Your sainthood doesn’t begin when a council starts investigating your life. Your invitation to sainthood began at your Baptism. Your life – right now – is your RSVP. Just live today and every day for heaven and let your resume take care of itself.