Editing Canonization (section)

=== Since 1983 ===
The [[Apostolic constitution]] ''Divinus Perfectionis Magister'' of [[Pope John Paul II]] of 25 January 1983<ref name="v25011983">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister_en.html|title=Divinus Perfectionis Magister |website=The Holy See |access-date=4 October 2014}}</ref> and the norms issued by the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] on 7 February 1983 to implement the constitution in dioceses, continued the simplification of the process initiated by [[Pope Paul VI]].<ref name="v25011983"/> Contrary to popular belief, the reforms did not eliminate the office of the Promoter of the Faith (Latin: ''Promotor Fidei''), popularly known as the [[Devil's advocate]], whose office is to question the material presented in favor of canonization. The reforms were intended to reduce the adversarial nature of the process. In November 2012 [[Pope Benedict XVI]] appointed Monsignor Carmello Pellegrino as Promoter of the Faith.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2012/11/05/news/l_avvocato_del_diavolo_pugliese_tester_le_virt_degli_aspiranti_santi-45975067/&prev=search| title = Devil's Advocate Is Puglia: 'It will test the virtues of aspiring saints{{'}}, ''la Republica''| date = 5 November 2012}}</ref>

Candidates for canonization undergo the following process:
{{ordered list
| [[Servant of God]] (''Servus Dei''): The process of canonization commences at the diocesan level. A [[bishop]] with jurisdiction, usually the bishop of the place where the candidate died or is buried, although another ordinary can be given this authority, gives permission to open an investigation into the virtues of the individual in response to a petition of members of the faithful, either actually or ''[[pro forma]]''.<ref>Pope John Paul II, [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_divinus-perfectionis-magister_en.html ''Divinus Perfectionis Magister''] (25 January 1983), Art. 1, Sec. 1.</ref> This investigation usually commences no sooner than five years after the death of the person being investigated.<ref>Pietro Cardinal Palazzini, [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_07021983_norme_en.html ''Norms to be observed in inquiries made by bishops in the causes of saints''], 1983 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022065149/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_07021983_norme_en.html |date=22 October 2006 }}, §9(a).</ref> The [[Pope]], ''qua'' Bishop of Rome, may also open a process and has the authority to waive the waiting period of five years, e.g., as was done for [[St. Teresa of Calcutta]] by [[Pope John Paul II]],<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-teresa_en.html ''Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997), Biography''], Office of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, Internet Office of the Holy See</ref> and for [[Lúcia Santos]] and for [[Pope John Paul II]] himself by [[Pope Benedict XVI]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-21764?l=english|title=Sister Lucia's Beatification Process to Begin|work=ZENIT – The World Seen from Rome|access-date=4 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020314/http://www.zenit.org/article-21764?l=english|archive-date=27 September 2012}}</ref><ref>[[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[José Saraiva Martins]], [[Claretians|CMF]], [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050509_rescritto-gpii_en.html ''Response of His Holiness Benedict XVI for the Examination of the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II''], 2005 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105024819/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050509_rescritto-gpii_en.html |date=5 January 2009 }}</ref> Normally, an association to promote the cause of the candidate is instituted, an exhaustive search of the candidate's writings, speeches, and sermons is undertaken, a detailed biography is written, and eyewitness accounts are collected. When sufficient evidence has been collected, the local bishop presents the investigation of the candidate, who is titled "Servant of God" ([[Latin]]: ''Servus Dei''), to the [[Congregation for the Causes of the Saints]] of the [[Roman Curia]], where the cause is assigned a [[postulator]], whose office is to collect further evidence of the life of the Servant of God. Religious orders that regularly deal with the Congregation often designate their own Postulator General. At some time, permission is then granted for the body of the Servant of God to be exhumed and examined. A certification ''non-cultus'' is made that no superstitious or heretical worship, or improper cult of the Servant of God or her/his tomb has emerged, and relics are taken and preserved.
| [[Venerable]] (''Venerabilis''; abbreviated "Ven.") or "Heroic in Virtue": When sufficient evidence has been collected, the Congregation recommends to the [[Pope]] that he proclaim the [[heroic virtue]] of the Servant of God; that is, that the Servant of God exercised "to a heroic degree" the [[theological virtues]] of faith, hope, and charity and the [[cardinal virtues]] of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. From this time the one said to be "heroic in virtue" is entitled "[[Venerable]]" ([[Latin]]: ''Venerabilis''). A Venerable does not yet have a [[feast day]], permission to erect churches in their honor has not yet been granted, and the Church does not yet issue a statement on their probable or certain presence in [[Heaven]], but [[prayer card]]s and other materials may be printed to encourage the faithful to pray for a [[miracle]] wrought by their intercession as a sign of God's will that the person be canonized.
| [[Beatification|Blessed]] (''Beatus'' or ''Beata''; abbreviated "Bl."): Beatification is a statement of the Church that it is "worthy of belief" that the Venerable is in [[Heaven]] and saved. Attaining this grade depends on whether the Venerable is a [[martyr]]:{{bulleted list
| For a martyr, the [[Pope]] has only to make a declaration of martyrdom, which is a certification that the Venerable gave their life voluntarily as a witness of the Faith or in an [[act of heroic charity]] for others.
| For a non-martyr, all of them being denominated "confessors" because they "confessed", i.e., bore witness to the Faith by how they lived, proof is required of the occurrence of a [[miracle]] through the intercession of the Venerable; that is, that God granted a sign that the person is enjoying the [[beatific vision]] by performing a miracle for which the Venerable interceded. Presently, these miracles are almost always miraculous cures of infirmity, because these are the easiest to judge given the Church's evidentiary requirements for miracles; e.g., a patient was sick with an illness for which no cure was known; prayers were directed to the Venerable; the patient was cured; the cure was spontaneous, instantaneous, complete, and enduring; and physicians cannot discover any natural explanation for the cure.
}}
The satisfaction of the applicable conditions permits [[beatification]], which then bestows on the Venerable the title of "Blessed" ([[Latin]]: ''Beatus'' or ''Beata''). A [[feast day]] will be designated, but its observance is ordinarily only permitted for the Blessed's home [[diocese]], to specific locations associated with them, or to the churches or houses of the Blessed's religious order if they belonged to one. Parishes may not normally be named in honor of ''beati''.
| [[Saint]] (''Sanctus'' or ''Sancta''; abbreviated "St." or "S."): To be canonized as a saint, ordinarily at least two miracles must have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed after their death, but for ''beati'' confessors, i.e., ''beati'' who were not declared martyrs, only one miracle is required, ordinarily being additional to that upon which beatification was premised. Very rarely, a Pope may waive the requirement for a second miracle after beatification if he, the [[College of Cardinals|Sacred College of Cardinals]], and the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] all agree that the Blessed lived a life of great merit proven by certain actions. This extraordinary procedure was used in [[Pope Francis]]' canonization of [[Pope John XXIII]], who convoked the first part of the [[Second Vatican Council]].
}}

Canonization is a statement of the Church that the person certainly enjoys the beatific vision of [[Heaven]]. The title of "Saint" ([[Latin]]: ''Sanctus'' or ''Sancta'') is then proper, reflecting that the saint is a refulgence of the holiness (''sanctitas'') of God himself, which alone comes from God's gift. The saint is assigned a [[feast day]] which may be celebrated anywhere in the universal Church, although it is not necessarily added to the [[General Roman Calendar]] or local calendars as an "obligatory" feast; parish churches may be erected in their honor; and the faithful may freely celebrate and honor the saint.

Although recognition of sainthood by the [[Pope]] does not directly concern a fact of [[Divine revelation]], nonetheless it must be "definitively held" by the faithful as ''infallible'' pursuant to, at the least, the [[Infallibility of the Church|Universal Magisterium of the Church]], because it is a truth related to revelation by historical necessity.<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFADTU.HTM Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the ''Professio Fidei''], by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later [[Pope Benedict XVI]]), Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.</ref><ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm "Beatification and Canonization"], ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. p. 366.</ref>