How does someone become a saint?

Many religions bestow a special status on people who demonstrate a life of almost perfect virtue -- but how does canonization actually occur? In this episode, Marshall breaks down the process used to officially recognize a person as a saint.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Brainstuff from houst works dot com where smart Happens.
Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question, how does someone
become a saint? Many of the world's religions bestows special

(00:20):
status on people who demonstrate a life of almost perfect virtue.
Religions differ on the title assigned to these people. The
Catholic Church calls them saints. So how does someone become
a saint? In the Catholic Church? The process is called canonization.
The Catholic Church is canonized about three thousand people. The

(00:42):
exact number is unknown because not all saints were officially canonized.
According to the Church, the pope does not make someone
a saint. The designation of sainthood only recognizes what God
has already done. For centuries, saints were chosen through public opinion,
and in the tenth century Pope John the fifteenth developed

(01:04):
an official canonization process. Canonization has then been revised in
the past one thousand years, most recently by Pope John
Paul the Second. In ninety three, Pope John Paul the Second,
who canonized some three people, made several procedural changes to
the canonization process, including the elimination of the devil's advocate

(01:26):
from the review process. The devil's advocate was the person
designated to attack the evidence offered in favor of canonization.
The process of becoming a Catholic saint is lengthy, often
taking decades or centuries to complete. The canonization process has
been in the news off and on over the past
few years, primarily because of the movement to make Mother

(01:49):
Teresa a saint. Soon after her death in nine Mother
Teresa's followers began pressing the Vatican to waive the rule
that prevents the process of canonization from beginning until five
years after the candidate's death. This rule has traditionally been
used to allow for a more objective look at the
person's life and achievements. In the Pope did waive the

(02:14):
five year rule, allowing the candonization process to begin. Here
are the steps that must be followed in the process
of canonization. First, a local bishop investigates the candidate's life
and writings for evidence of heroic virtue. The information uncovered
by the bishop is sent to the Vatican. Step two,

(02:35):
a panel of theologians and the cardinals of the Congregation
for a Cause of Saints evaluate the candidate's life step three.
If the panel approves, the Pope proclaims that candidate is venerable,
which means that the person is a role model of
Catholic virtues. Step four. The next step towards saint hood

(02:56):
is beatification, which allows a person to be honored by
a particular group or region. In order to beatify a candidate,
it must be shown that the person is responsible for
a posthumous miracle. Martyrs, those who died for their religious cause,
can be beatified without evidence of a miracle. On October twenty,

(03:18):
two thousand three, Mother Teresa was beatified. She is now
known as Blessed Mother Teresa. Step five. In order for
the candidate to be considered a saint, there must be
proof of a second posthumous miracle. If there is, the
person is canonized. These alleged miracles must be submitted to

(03:39):
the Vatican for verification. Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,
was canonized in after the Vatican verified that a young
girl who ate seven times the lethal dose of thailand
all was suddenly cured. The girl's family was said to
have prayed to the spirit of Sister Teresa so for

(04:00):
help in Mother Teresa's case. Her supporters are arguing that
she has performed at least two posthumous miracles. In one case,
a frenchwoman in the United States broke several ribs in
a car accident. Reportedly, her wounds were healed because she
was wearing a Mother Teresa medallion. Another possible miracle occurred

(04:21):
when Mother Teresa appeared in the dreams of a Palestinian girl,
telling the girl that her cancer was cured. Once a
person is a saint, he or she is recommended to
the entire Catholic Church for veneration. Some saints are selected
as patron saints, special protectors, or guardians over particular occasions, illnesses, churches, countries,

(04:44):
or causes. For example, in two thousand and six, the
Pope named a patron saint of Internet users and computer programmers.
Several saints were considered, but the Pope eventually settled on
Saint Isidore of Seville, who is credited with writing the
world's first encyclopedia. So the next time you can't find
a Wi Fi hot spot, the person to pray to

(05:06):
would be Saint Isidore of Seville. Be sure to check
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