Question: I understand that until the 12th century, there was no canonisation process by which the Catholic Church would declare a person’s sainthood. Does this mean that before that, anybody could just be named a saint? And how did the process change?

Answer by Günther Simmermacher: The early Church was quite decentralised and often persecuted, so the earliest saints were mostly local martyrs, who would be presumed to be automatically in heaven with God, due to having been killed for their faith.

Some of these we know existed because their stories were more or less credibly recorded, such as St Nicholas or St Sebastian. The stories of other martyrs were insufficiently recorded, and today there are doubts about whether they really existed in the form of their hagiographies, such as St Christopher or St Cecilia. Others had their stories embellished with legends, often drawing from metaphors, such as St George’s slaying of the dragon.

Over time, some exceptionally holy people who had not suffered martyrdom became saints by acclamation. If people in a particular locality generally believed that the deceased was a saint, they were simply regarded as such. There were no rules governing the public acclamation of saints, though in many places the bishop reserved the right to approve a cult.

Sometimes a cult would spread and thrive, other times it remained local. But sainthood by acclamation was open to abuse. Unworthy people, often from rich and influential families, could be acclaimed saints by all kinds of machinations.

Bishops get involved

From about 500 AD it became customary for the acclamation of a saint to be ratified by the local bishop, following an official investigation.

The bishop would study the life of a proposed candidate and, if he found in their favour, issue a formal decree of sainthood. But even that system could be abused by public pressure, false testimonies or imprudent bishops. As a consequence, unworthy people could still be canonised.

Over the centuries, the process was refined. By the 10th century, it had become more rigorous. The local bishop would investigate the candidate’s life and review reported miracles. His dossier would then be presented to the pope, who would make a final ruling. The first official papal canonisation was that of St Ulrich of Augsburg, a German bishop, in 993 by Pope John XV.

And yet, often that papal prerogative was still ignored, until Pope Alexander III, who reigned from 1159-81, definitively declared that no saint may be revered “unless with the authority of the Roman Church”.

Vatican’s Dept. of Saints

In the late 16th century, Pope Sixtus V established the Congregation for Sacred Rites to help the pope in adjudicating sainthood causes, and in 1917 the process was codified in the universal Code of Canon Law. In 1983 Pope John Paul II promulgated the streamlined three-stage process which governs sainthood causes today.

In stage one, the life of a sainthood candidate is examined on a diocesan level; generally, this may begin no earlier than five years after the candidate’s death. If the candidate is deemed worthy, and there is support for the cause among the faithful, the local bishop institutes a tribunal to investigate the life of the candidate based on testimonies and documents.

If the cause passes that stage, the diocese sends a report to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where a panel of nine theologians votes on whether the candidate lived a life of heroic virtue or suffered martyrdom.

If they vote in favour, the cause is passed on for review by a board of cardinals and bishops. If they are satisfied, the prefect of the sainthood dicastery presents the dossier with all the findings to the pope, upon whose approval it drafts a decree declaring the candidate Venerable, which means the cause may proceed.

If the cause fails any of these steps, it cannot proceed.

In the second stage, a candidate may be beatified when a canonically investigated miracle is attributed to their intercession. Recognised martyrs proceed to beatification without the need for a miracle, as was the case with Bl Benedict Daswa in 2015.

A second duly investigated and approved miracle (or, in the case of martyrs, first miracle) is needed before a Blessed can be canonised. But that miracle must have taken place after the candidate’s beatification.

The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches also conduct canonisations. The Church of England in theory does, too, but it has canonised a total of one person, King Charles I of England.