the process of passing from one key to another

Servant of God - the title given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause is still under investigation, prior to being declared Venerable. Saint – the title given to someone who has been formally canonized by the Church as sharing eternal life with God, and therefore offered for public veneration and imitation. Relator – person appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to assemble the historic documentation of the candidate for canonization. Prefect - the head of any of the Roman curial congregations, usually a cardinal. One oversees the cause at the diocesan or eparchial level (Phase I) the Roman postulator, oversees all aspects of Phases II and III. Postulator - person appointed to guide and oversee the cause. The Positio is prepared during the Roman phase by the postulator with the assistance of someone from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Positio – a comprehensive summary of all documentation in this context, there are two: the one summarizing the investigation of a candidate's life and heroic virtues or offering of life, or martyrdom and a second for any alleged miracles. (A bishop may also begin a cause on his own initiative, in which case he is the petitioner.)

In the case of a sainthood cause, the petitioner is one who asks the diocesan bishop to begin the investigation which could ultimately lead to canonization. Petitioner – party initiating an action in canon law. Miracle –something that has occurred by the grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed which is scientifically inexplicable. Some of the responsibilities of the Congregation include making recommendations to the pope on beatifications and canonizations, and the authentication and preservation of sacred relics. Reorganized and renamed in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, and again in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. A miracle attributed to the person's intercession must be proved.īlessed - title bestowed on a person who has been beatified and accorded limited liturgical veneration.Ĭanonization – the formal process by which the Church declares a person to be a saint and worthy of universal veneration.Ĭongregation for the Causes of Saints – a department of the Roman Curia, established originally as the Congregation of Rites by Pope Sixtus V in 1588. Key Termsīeatification- the second stage in the process of proclaiming a person a saint occurs after a diocese or eparchy and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has conducted a rigorous investigation into the person's life and writings to determine whether he or she demonstrates a heroic level of virtue, offered their life or suffered martyrdom. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification, but one is required before canonization. Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification. To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life. In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: a candidate becomes 'Venerable,' then 'Blessed' and then 'Saint.' Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.

Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.

The process of passing from one key to another