How Does One Become a Saint? Explaining the Process of Sanctification

The process of sanctification consists of various stages and unfolds over a long period. Here’s how one becomes a Saint.

How does one become a Saint? It may seem like a trivial question, but it is far from it. The process of sanctification is lengthy, involves several stages, and requires an in-depth examination of the life of the person in question, as well as events that occurred after their death. If we were to summarise in three points what is necessary to be elevated to sainthood, we could say that to become a Saint, one must:

• be deceased,
• have performed a miracle,
• undergo a process of canonisation.

If we wish to delve deeper, we should first recall that, according to the Catholic Church, anyone who has received Baptism is a Saint, where the term “Saint” means blessed, sanctified, a full member of the Church understood as the Communion of Saints, which includes all the baptised, both living and deceased.
But when people speak of Saints, they inevitably think of those men and women who chose to live by the example of Jesus, obeying His commandment of love, leading a life illuminated by divine Grace, practising Christian virtues in a heroic way or dying for their faith.

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While in ancient times the word “Saint” generally referred to something or someone connected to the divine or inviolable—derived from the Latin sanctus, the past participle of sancīre, meaning protected by law or sanction—over time, within the Catholic Church, it increasingly took on the meaning of someone worthy of devotion, venerated, and seen as being “in Christ.”
In early Christianity, all baptised Christians were considered Saints, and the true Saints were those capable of performing miracles.
With the onset of persecutions against Christians, the figures of Martyr Saints emerged—those who died for the Faith.

In the Middle Ages, the Confessor Saints gained recognition—those who lived and bore witness to their Faith throughout their lives through words and actions.
With the arrival of the Reformation, the veneration of Saints became one of the points of division between Catholics and Protestants, the latter rejecting any religious authority apart from God and thus viewing the devotion to Saints as a form of idolatry.

We mentioned two different models of Sainthood, and in summary, we can say that there are two types of Saints:

• confessors, who bear witness to their Faith;
• martyrs, who are persecuted and sometimes killed in the name of their Creed, refusing to renounce it even in the face of death.

Regarding Martyrs, we specified that only sometimes they are killed, as it is not essential to die in order to demonstrate one’s love for God. The Church also recognises the white martyrdom of those persecuted for their Faith but not necessarily killed. Then there is the green martyrdom of those who choose fasting and deprivation, embracing solitude, and finally the red martyrdom of those who die in the name of God.
Over the centuries, other categories of Saints have been identified: virgins, doctors of the Church, educators, and so forth.

Since 2017, in addition to Confessors and Martyrs, those who have made an “offering of life”, sacrificing themselves for others, may also be canonised.

Let us now see how one becomes a Saint.

What Is the Difference Between Sanctification and Beatification?

We often hear about Saints and Blesseds. They are not the same thing. The title Servant of God refers to the Catholic faithful for whom the Cause of Beatification and Sanctification (or Canonisation) has been opened.

Blessed is anyone who, through the process of Beatification, is recognised as having ascended to Heaven due to their extraordinary good deeds and exceptional devotion to God. As a Blessed, they are admitted to His presence and may intercede with Him on behalf of the faithful who pray to them. However, they may not be venerated universally, only within churches that officially recognise the cult of that particular Blessed. The process of Beatification begins with a cause supported and fuelled by the faithful. First and foremost comes the reputation for holiness that surrounds a person, which can lead to the process of Beatification and originates with those who knew the prospective Blessed.

A Saint, on the other hand, is someone whom the Church universally recognises for veneration, through the process of Canonisation, which takes years. During this process, the miracles performed by the Saint must be verified, and what they did in service to God and the Church must be carefully established. Only once someone is declared a Saint may they be officially venerated on a universal level.

If we wish to distinguish between canonisation and sanctification: canonisation is the declaration of sainthood for a deceased Christian, while sanctification refers to the actual process that recognises a candidate as first a Servant of God, then Venerable, then Blessed, and finally a Saint. In practice, however, the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Who Decides Sanctification?

In ancient times, popular acclamation was enough to render a man or woman a Saint. Later, the Church decided to regulate the process with a specific code established by canon law.
It is the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that handles the processes of Beatification and Canonisation. Its offices are located in a building near St. Peter’s Square. However, the final decision lies with the Pope, by virtue of his infallibility, which was established as Dogma in 1870. The dogmatic constitution Pastor Aeternus defines as infallible “by themselves and not by the consent of the Church” the proclamations on “faith and morals” made by the Pope ex cathedra, that is, as teacher or pastor.
The Pope may also employ equivalent or equipollent canonisation, either in the case of beatification or canonisation, recognising an existing spontaneous cult without investigations or recognised miracles, through a decree.

The Process of Sanctification

Canon law outlines several stages in the process of sanctification. The candidate must first be proclaimed a Servant of God, then Venerable, then Blessed, and finally Saint. It begins with the aforementioned reputation for holiness, collecting documents, testimonies, and opinions from people who knew the candidate and can confirm that their life was dedicated to Christian virtues and that their death was edifying.

Diocesan Phase: Servant of God

This is the phase that follows the official opening of the sanctification process.
A specific person, the Postulator, is appointed by the Bishop and tasked with collecting documents and testimonies. They act as a kind of defence lawyer for the candidate and must demonstrate the heroic nature of the virtues that the Servant of God is said to have practised throughout their life in an extraordinary way.
After examining the documents and evaluating the testimonies, the Bishop decides whether to submit the Cause for Canonisation to a Tribunal, where the Postulator faces the Promoter of Justice, who will challenge the candidacy. A Historical Commission is also appointed to collect documents, alongside two Theological Censors assigned to analyse them. The Bishop concludes this first phase with a closing session in which all testimonies are sealed.

Roman Phase: From Servant of God to Venerable

The material gathered in the Diocesan Phase is sent to Rome to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Here the Postulator is assisted in drafting the Positio, the volume that compiles the collected evidence and attests to the Servant of God’s reputation for holiness.
The Positio is examined by a group of theologians and a historical commission—if the candidate has been deceased for some time and there are no direct witnesses to their life. If positively evaluated, it proceeds to the Dicastery, and if the Cardinals and Bishops approve what has been declared, the Pope proclaims the Servant of God Venerable, issuing the Decree on the Heroic Virtues or Martyrdom, which confirms that the candidate lived the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) and the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) to a “heroic” degree, or that they were martyred.

Beatification: From Venerable to Blessed

At least five years must pass after the candidate’s death before they may progress from Venerable to Blessed. Martyrs achieve this automatically, while for others, a miracle must be recognised—usually a miraculous healing confirmed by a Medical Commission composed of both believing and non-believing specialists.
Bishops and Cardinals then confirm the miracle, and the Pope proclaims the Venerable as Blessed. With this new designation, the person is included in the liturgical calendar of their diocese and may be venerated there.

Canonisation: From Blessed to Saint

If a second miracle is attributed to the Blessed, one that occurs after the Beatification, they may be considered for Sainthood. A new canonical verification is initiated, and a new Process begins, where the Postulator argues for the candidate’s sanctity against the Promoter of the Faith—also known as the Devil’s Advocate—sent by the Dicastery to challenge the cause.