How the Catholic Church makes its saints

Sister Irene Stefani was Saturday beatified at a colourful ceremony at Nyeri’s Dedan Kimathi University grounds.

Beatification is the third and second last step toward sainthood, one of the highest accolades for Catholic faithful.

This means her name may eventually be added to the official catalogue of saints. This means church masses can be celebrated in her honour. Yesterday’s event was the first of such on African soil. This process, of an individual becoming a saint is called canonisation, and is made up of four major steps.

Request

At least five years after a person’s death (unless a special exception is made by the Pope), a formal request is made to consider him or her for sainthood. The people making the request are usually from the candidate’s church or religious community. They submit their request to the bishop of the diocese where the person died.

The request tells how the person lived a life of holiness and lists reasons for considering the candidate for sainthood. If the bishop believes there is enough evidence to consider the person for sainthood, he asks the Vatican for permission to open a special tribunal. Witnesses are then called to attest to the candidate’s goodness, holiness, devotion to God, and other virtues. If a person passes this step, he or she is named a “Servant of God”.

Determination

The bishop sends a formal report and request to Rome where it is reviewed by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. Nine theologians read the material and determine whether there is enough cause to pass it to the entire congregation. If so, the candidate’s writings and other aspects of his or her life are studied to make sure there is nothing that goes against the teachings and practices of the church. As part of this investigation, a person called a “devil’s advocate” raises questions and objections to the candidate’s sainthood.

This is to make sure the final decision is complete and fair, and all evidence of the candidate’s saintliness is assured. Once a candidate has been determined to be virtuous and heroic in his or her faith, he or she is declared “Venerable.”

Beatification

The next step is beatification. If the candidate was a martyr, someone who died for their faith, he or she may be beatified and named “Blessed.” Otherwise, a miracle brought about by the intercession of the saint must occur and be verified by the congregation. Once the person is beatified and named “Blessed,” he or she can be venerated, or officially honoured, in his or her city, diocese, region, or religious community.

Canonisation

After being beatified, another miracle is required for the person to be canonised and officially declared a saint. Once again, the miracle must have occurred as a result of the person’s intercession.

The prefect of the congregation then sends the cause for canonisation to the Pope who makes the final decision. Once a person is canonised, he or she is officially declared a “Saint.” The Pope declares this in an official way at a special mass in honour of the new saint.