Friday 12/5/14

This week’s Life Teen Question of the Week comes from Dan Roche. Dan asks:

What does it take to be a Saint or be a Blessed?


Before I get too involved, let’s talk about the difference between saints and Saints. A saint is any member of the Christian faithful who has died and we think or hope might be in Heaven. A Saint, on the other hand, is someone whom the Church has confirmed to be in Heaven. They make that confirmation through a long process called Canonization. It has a number of steps, and I’d be happy to discuss them in detail.


Step 1: Life

The first step in the process of Canonization for most of creation is to be born. I say most of creation because angels, like Saint Michael or Saint Gabriel, were never born but created in their current form by God, but we still call them Saints. If you’re reading this, you’ve already taken the first step toward Sainthood, you’re alive. During your life, you should do good things. Try to live a pious life and live according to the Beatitudes. Follow the Commandments, stay close to the Church, and try not to do anything evil. I’m not going to get into the real practical here, because it would get a little boring. You know how to live a life of virtue, the trick is sticking with it when temptation comes knocking.


Step 2: Death

The second step in the process of Canonization for most of creation is to die. Since a Saint is someone in heaven, we have to die to become one. There are a few exceptions. Angels, as previously stated, were not born and therefore did not die. Mary and Elijah were both assumed into Heaven by God. Enoch may have been assumed into Heaven as well, but it’s unclear. At any rate, you’re probably going to have to die if you want to wear a halo.


Step 3: Wait a Bit

The next step is a waiting period of five years. In certain cases, the Pope can waive the five year waiting process at any point. It’s only been done twice, and both were in recent history: Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Saint John Paul II. It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be the third, but not impossible. In the event that the Pope does not waive your five year waiting period, it’s advisable that you try not to decompose during the next five years. While it is not necessarily required for Sainthood, the bodies of many Saints have resisted decomposition in a phenomenon called “incorruption.”


Step 4: Servant of God

After the five year waiting process is up, the Bishop of the Diocese in which you died can petition the Vatican on your behalf. If nobody too important over there objects, the cause for your Beatification and Canonization is opened.

It’s at this point that you get your first official title: “Servant of God.” Congratulations. It’s a big day.


Step 5: Fact Finding

Now that your cause is open and you’ve been officially declared a “Servant of God” it’s time to gather the facts. At this point you’re kind of a big deal, so a group of people from your Diocese will comb through your life, conduct a bunch of interviews, and gather together all of your personal and public writings. They’ll find out all about you and put it together in a big book called the Acta (acts). They’ll submit it to another group of people in the Diocese, and if they find it worthy, it will get passed on to the Bishop. If you’re lucky, that Bishop will decide that you demonstrated “heroic virtue” in your life. He’ll send the Acta to someone at the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. The Congregation will put together a proposal, then vote on it. If you pass the vote, they send the Pope a letter recommending that you receive a Decree of Heroic Virtue. Hopefully for you, the Pope agrees, and grants one.


Step 6: Intercede!

If you’ve made it this far, good for you! You’re no longer just Dan Roche, but “The Venerable Dan Roche.” Your parents would be proud, but you’re not done yet. It’s time for your first miracle. In order to prove to everyone down on earth that you’re really in heaven, you need someone to pray for your miraculous intercession. Then you have to take their prayer to Jesus. If you can convince Him to answer the prayer in a miraculous way, the miracle will be carried out and you’ll be one step closer to Sainthood. If someone down on earth recognizes the miracle, they start telling people. The Vatican will send out two teams you examine the miracle. The first team is the scientific team. They make sure that there’s no scientific explanation for what happened. The second team is the theological team. They make sure that the miracle was a result of your intercession and no one else’s. If the person who prayed to you also prayed to a bunch of other people, you’re probably out of luck. After all, the Church needs to know that you are in Heaven if they want your cause to go further.


Step 7: Repeat

If two teams both approve and the Pope agrees, the Pope Beatifies you. You are now “Blessed Dan Roche.”

If you want to be a Saint, you’re probably going to have to repeat Step 6 a second time. I say probably because I don’t know how you died. There’s actually a chance that you don’t need a second miraculous intercession. That’s because martyrs for the faith only need one miracle, so if you were killed for being Catholic, you’re on to Step 8!


Step 8: Canonization

At this point, you’re ready to be declared a Saint. The Pope makes an announcement and a time and place is chosen for the ceremony which will forever declare you a Saint in the eyes of the Universal Church. Way to go!



If you have a question you’d like Mike to answer, submit it under the “Ask Mike” section of our website. To guarantee that your question is chosen, write it down, pray for miraculous intercession from your favorite Servant of God, and mail it to: