Canonization
Canonization is the Pope's formal declaration that a deceased person is a saint in heaven and worthy of veneration by the whole Church. It is the final step of a process that usually includes an investigation into the person's life and virtues, beatification, and typically a miracle attributed to their intercession after beatification.
From Candidate to Saint
Canonization is the final step of a process that usually begins years after a person's death with a diocesan inquiry into their life and virtue, followed by beatification and, typically, a second confirmed miracle attributed to their intercession. Only after all of this does the Pope formally declare the person a saint in a canonization ceremony.
What Canonization Actually Means
Canonization does not create a saint — the Church teaches that sainthood itself depends on the person's own holiness and their standing before God, which the Church cannot see directly. Canonization is instead the Church's own solemn, considered judgment that a particular person is with God in heaven and worthy of the whole Church's public veneration and imitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is canonization the same as declaring someone perfect?
No. Canonization declares that a person lived a life of heroic virtue and died in friendship with God — it says nothing about whether they were flawless, and many canonized saints wrote openly about their own faults and struggles.
Who has the authority to canonize a saint?
Only the Pope can canonize a saint for the universal Catholic Church, acting after the formal investigative process is complete.