Saint Canonization

When we were discussing the book Voodoo Queen on Thursday, the topic of the canonization of saints came up. Canonization is the name that the Catholic Church uses for the process they use of making a person a saint. We talked about it briefly, but I wanted to look further into it because it really sparked my interest. The canonization process changed greatly since Pope John Paul II became Pope. Initially, those considered for canonization were chosen by public acclaim, but gradually the responsibility of the decision process became that of the Vatican. Those considered for canonization are regarded as holy Catholics. Next, a panel of theologians within the Vatican vote on whether the candidate is "venerable." If voted venerable, the candidate moves on to the beatification process. During this step, the candidate is required to show one miracle. A miracle happens when someone prays to the candidate, who is by that time deceased, and as a result the candidate heals them or performs a miracle. Once the miracle is performed and proven to be a miracle, the potential saint is considered beatified. However, in order to be canonized the saint has to perform another miracle. This means that before a candidate officially becomes a saint, he or she must perform TWO miracles.

Okay. Blah. Many of you may find this uninteresting, especially those of you who are not Catholic, but I was very curious about it!

ENJOY YOUR WEEK!

P.S.

The Delta Gamma beach retreat was so so GREAT, but I am still very jealous and sad I missed out on the Saturday field trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!