How to Canonize a Saint

In the Catholic Church, the canonization of a saint means that the saint is added to the canon, or list, of recognized saints. It is important to understand that canonization does not make a person a saint; it simply recognizes the fact that he or she is a saint. It is a long and meticulous process, necessarily so because of the significance of such an honor.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Begin at the diocesan level; the bishop must give permission for an investigation to begin. Five years must pass after the death of the candidate to ensure the objectivity of the investigation (the pope may waive the time limit if he chooses). The bishop sets up a tribunal to discover if the person has lived and died in a heroically virtuous manner. He is then called a "Servant of God."
2. Gather the documents and send them to the Roman Curia, or the "Congregation for the Causes of Saints," in Rome. Nine theologians must vote favorably to pass the documents on to the Holy See. At this point, the candidate receives the title of "Venerable." Holy Cards may be distributed, and the faithful may pray for miracles by the intercession of the Venerable.
3. Learn if the candidate was a martyr. If this is the case, the pope may make a Declaration of Martyrdom. This allows for beatification, assigns the title "Blessed" and grants a feast day in the person's home diocese. If not a martyr, a miracle is required for beatification, proven through the intercession of the Blessed.
4. Prove that a miracle was performed by the intercession of the candidate. Usually this is a miraculous cure, because these are the easiest miracles to prove. The conditions are that a patient was ill, there was no known cure, they prayed for intercession through the blessed and doctors cannot explain how the patient healed.
5. Identify one more miracle. For the Blessed to be declared a saint, at least one more miracle must be verified. The saint is then given a feast day that is celebrated universally throughout the Catholic Church. Canonizations are considered Catholic dogma but not matters of papal infallibility, meaning that they are not divinely revealed.