Editing Saint (section)

=== Catholic Church ===
{{anchor|Catholic Church|Catholic|Catholicism}}
{{Further|List of Catholic saints|General Roman Calendar}}
[[File:San Francesco.jpg|thumb|left|A portrait depicting [[Saint Francis of Assisi]] by the Italian artist [[Cimabue]] (1240–1302)]]

According to the [[Catholic Church]], a saint may be anyone in [[Heaven]] (besides [[God in Catholicism|God]]), whether recognized on Earth or not, who forms the "great cloud of witnesses" ([[Hebrews 12]]:1).<ref name="Francis2018"/><ref CHURCH">{{cite web|last1=Kevin Cotter|title=How Does Someone Become a Saint? A 5-Step Process|url=https://focusoncampus.org/content/how-does-someone-become-a-saint-a-5-step-process|website=focusoncampus, CHURCH|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> These "may include our own mothers, grandmothers or other loved ones (cf. [[2 Timothy 1:5]])" who may have not always lived perfect lives, but "amid their faults and failings they kept moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord".<ref name="Francis2018">{{cite web|url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html|title=Gaudete et exsultate: Apostolic Exhortation on the call to holiness in today's world|date=19 March 2018|publisher=[[Holy See]]|language=en|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref> The title ''Saint'' denotes a person who has been formally [[canonization|canonized]]—that is, officially and authoritatively declared a saint, by the church as holder of the [[Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven]], and is therefore believed to be in Heaven by the [[Grace in Christianity|grace of God]]. There are many persons that the church believes to be in Heaven who have not been formally canonized and who are otherwise titled saints because of the fame of their holiness.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/explained.asp |title=What is a saint? Vatican Information Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013120338/http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/explained.asp |archive-date=1999-10-13 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Sometimes the word saint also denotes living Christians.<ref name=cat2>{{cite web|url=http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p5.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church (Second Edition) |publisher=Scborromeo.org |access-date=12 October 2013}}</ref>

According to the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', "The [[Patriarchs (Bible)|patriarchs]], [[Prophets in Christianity|prophets]], and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the church's liturgical traditions."<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' Chapter 2, Article 1, 61</ref>

In his book ''Saint of the Day'', editor Leonard Foley says this: the "[Saints'] surrender to God's love was so generous an approach to the total surrender of [[Jesus]] that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ."<ref>''Saint of the Day'', edited by Leonard Foley, OFM, (Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2003), xvi. {{ISBN|0-86716-535-9}}</ref>

The Catholic Church teaches that it does not "make" or "create" saints, but rather merely recognizes them. Proofs of heroic virtue required in the process of beatification will serve to illustrate in detail the general principles exposed above<ref>The [http://www.kofc.org/un/catechism/getsection.action?part=1&sec=2&chap=3&art=9&parasec=3&subsec=2&hdr=0&par=828&paratype=a ''Catechism of the Catholic Church''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812112425/http://www.kofc.org/un/catechism/getsection.action?part=1&sec=2&chap=3&art=9&parasec=3&subsec=2&hdr=0&par=828&paratype=a |date=12 August 2011 }}, from the [[Knights of Columbus]] site</ref> upon proof of their holiness or likeness to God.

On 3 January 993, [[Pope John XV]] became the first pope to proclaim a person a saint from outside the diocese of Rome: on the petition of the German ruler, he had canonized Bishop [[Ulrich of Augsburg]]. Before that time, the popular "[[Cult (religious practice)|cults]]", or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous and were confirmed by the local [[Catholic bishop|bishop]].<ref name="lr12">Luscombe, David and Riley-Smith, Jonathan. 2004. ''New Cambridge Medieval History: c.1024–c.1198'', Volume 5. p. 12.</ref> [[Pope John XVIII]] subsequently permitted a cult of five Polish [[martyrs]].<ref name="lr12" /> [[Pope Benedict VIII]] later declared the Armenian hermit [[Simeon of Mantua]] to be a saint, but it was not until the pontificate of [[Pope Innocent III]] that the popes reserved to themselves the exclusive authority to canonize saints, so that local bishops needed the confirmation of the Pope.<ref name="lr12" /> [[Walter of Pontoise]] was the last person in [[Western Europe]] to be canonized by an authority other than the Pope: [[Hugh de Boves]], the [[Archbishop of Rouen]], canonized him in 1153.<ref name=smith>William Smith, Samuel Cheetham, ''[https://archive.org/details/adictionarychri00cheegoog A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities]'' (Murray, 1875), 283.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.saint-mike.org/library/papal_library/AlexanderIII/biography.html |title=Alexander III |newspaper=Saint-mike.org |access-date=12 October 2013}}</ref> Thenceforth a decree of [[Pope Alexander III]] in 1170 reserved the prerogative of canonization to the Pope, insofar as the [[Latin Church]] was concerned.<ref name=smith />

[[Alban Butler]] published ''Lives of the Saints'' in 1756, including a total of 1,486 saints. The latest revision of this book, edited by [[Herbert Thurston]] and [[Donald Attwater]], contains the lives of 2,565 saints.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862347,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214112751/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862347,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 December 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Religion: 2,565 Saints | date=6 August 1956 | access-date=23 May 2010}}</ref> Robert Sarno, an official of the [[Dicastery for the Causes of Saints]] of the [[Holy See]], expressed that it is impossible to give an exact number of saints.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keeping-saints-alive/ | work=CBS News | title=Keeping Saints Alive | date=4 April 2010}}</ref>

The [[veneration of saints]], in [[Latin]] {{lang|la|cultus}}, or the "[[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] of the Saints", describes a particular popular devotion or entrustment of one's self to a particular saint or group of saints. Although the term ''[[Christian worship|worship]]'' is sometimes used, it is only used with the older English connotation of honoring or respecting (''[[veneration|dulia]]'') a person. According to the church, divine worship is in the strict sense reserved only to God (''[[latria]]'') and never to the saints. One is permitted to ask the saints to [[intercede]] or pray to God for persons still on Earth,<ref>[http://www.catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp The Intercession of the Saints] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619002648/http://www.catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp |date=19 June 2009 }} on Catholic.com</ref> just as one can ask someone on Earth to pray for him.

A saint may be designated as a [[patron saint]] of a particular cause, profession, church or locale, or invoked as a protector against specific illnesses or disasters, sometimes by popular custom and sometimes by official declarations of the church.<ref>[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Patron Saints|Patron Saints]] from Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) on Wikisource.org</ref> Saints are not believed to have power of their own, but only that granted by God. [[Relics]] of saints are respected, or ''venerated'', similar to the veneration of holy images and [[icons]]. The practice in past centuries of venerating relics of saints with the intention of obtaining healing from God through their intercession is taken from the [[early Church]].<ref>''Acts of the Apostles'', 19: 11–2</ref> For example, an American [[deacon]] claimed in 2000 that [[John Henry Newman]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-50032640|title=Cardinal Newman declared a saint by the Pope|date=2019-10-13|access-date=2020-01-19|language=en-GB}}</ref> (then a [[Beatification|blessed]]) interceded with God to cure him of a physical illness. The deacon, Jack Sullivan, asserted that after addressing Newman he was cured of [[spinal stenosis]] in a matter of hours. In 2009, a panel of theologians concluded that Sullivan's recovery was the result of his prayer to Newman. According to the church, to be deemed a miracle, "a medical recovery must be instantaneous, not attributable to treatment, disappear for good."<ref>Jenna Russell, "Marshfield man's prayer an answer in sainthood query", ''The Boston Globe'', 28 April 2009, B1, 4.</ref>

Once a person has been canonized, the deceased body of the saint is considered holy as a [[relic]].<ref name="newadv">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Relics |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12734a.htm |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> The remains of saints are called holy relics and are usually used in churches. Saints' personal belongings may also be used as relics.<ref name=newadv /> Some of the saints have a special iconographic [[saint symbology|symbol]] by tradition, e.g., [[Saint Lawrence]], deacon and martyr, is identified by a [[Gridiron (cooking)|gridiron]] because he is believed to have been burned to death on one. This symbol is found, for instance, in the Canadian heraldry of the office responsible for the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]].

==== Stages of canonization ====
Formal [[canonization]] is a lengthy process, often of many years or even centuries.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_saints_en.html Table of the Canonizations during the Pontificate of His Holiness John Paul II] on Vatican.va</ref> There are four major steps to become a saint.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.mic.com/articles/53125/john-paul-ii-sainthood-4-steps-to-becoming-a-catholic-saint| title = John Paul II Sainthood: 4 Steps to Becoming a Catholic Saint| newspaper = Mic| date = 6 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.catholichawaii.org/media/314379/canonization_4_steps_to_becoming_a_saint.pdf| title = 4 Steps to Becoming a Saint| access-date = 27 January 2020| archive-date = 30 October 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201030024209/https://www.catholichawaii.org/media/314379/canonization_4_steps_to_becoming_a_saint.pdf| url-status = dead}}</ref> The first stage in this process is an investigation of the candidate's life by an expert. After this, the official report on the candidate is submitted to the bishop of the pertinent diocese and more study is undertaken. The information is then sent to the [[Dicastery for the Causes of Saints]] of the [[Holy See]] for evaluation at the universal level of the church.<ref name=how6191 /> If the application is approved the candidate may be granted the title ''[[The Venerable|Venerable]]'' (stage 2).<ref name=how6191>{{cite web|url=http://people.howstuffworks.com/question6191.htm|title=The Steps of Canonization|work=HowStuffWorks|date=20 April 2001}}</ref> Further investigation, step 3, may lead to the candidate's [[beatification]] with the title ''Blessed'',<ref name=how6191 /> which is elevation to the class of the ''[[beatification|Beati]]''. Next, and at a minimum, proof of two important miracles obtained from God through the intercession of the candidate are required for formal canonization as a saint. Finally, in the last stage, after all of these procedures are complete, the [[pope]] may canonize the candidate as a saint<ref name=how6191 /> for veneration by the universal church.