How the rules for sainthood changed

by Michael Shackleton · April 5, 2010

It is my understanding that in the early days of the Church there was no such thing as a cause for canonisation of the saints. Saints became honoured in the Church because of popular acclaim. When did the pope come into the picture and reserve the right to declare who was a saint?

In the days when the early Church was undergoing the cruel anti-Christian persecutions of the time, it was taken for granted that anyone who was martyred for the faith was immediately rewarded with eternal life in Christ. These martyrs were honoured as true saints and their victory was celebrated in the liturgy and by asking them to intercede for the living.

Later, when persecution came to an end, the Church began to give the same honour to those who had lived significantly holy lives, especially in their suffering for the faith or for making sacrifices for it. Hermits, monks and devout holy men and women, known as confessors, recognised by the Christian community, soon joined the ranks of the saints.

Each diocese or region would have its own particular favoured saints until the 10th century when, in order to prevent unworthy individuals from being presented for saintly veneration, local bishops, usually in their synods, began to impose their authority on the saint-making process in an effort to give it some formal and disciplined structure. This seems to have resulted in the pope being approached for approval in cases that were difficult to settle. Pope Alexander III (1159-81) eventually began to take over the decision of who could be canonised and who could not, and it was under Pope Gregory IX (1227-41) that papal canonisation was declared henceforth to be the only lawful one.

In order to simplify an increasingly complicated way of accumulating material in support of an application for sainthood, Pope John Paul II simplified the procedure in 1983, which was further refined in 1997.

The most relevant points in this ruling are:
at least five years have to lapse after the death of a candidate before any formal application is made;
the bishop of the diocese in which the candidate died is responsible for beginning the investigation;
witnesses must be called to provide evidence of the candidate’s holiness of life;
all documentation must be sent to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which then proceeds with its own investigation and verification.