It’s a line we recite every week – perhaps more than once a
week, and yet, how often do we stop to question if we really understand what we
mean by professing a belief in the communion of saints? I’ll be the first to
admit that I have managed to rush past this line more times than I can count
without stopping to question my own professed belief in the Church’s teaching
on saints. Growing up in a Catholic family and attending Catholic school, I’ve
been taught the importance of the “s” vs “S” saint, but how do saints become
Saints? How many saints are there? Isn’t there something about miracles involved
with this?
With the celebration of All Saints Day coming up this Friday
(reminder: Holy Day of Obligation) I’ve decided to look more into these
questions in an effort to learn more about my faith.
The communion of saints referred to in the Apostle’s Creed
every Sunday refers to a communion of “holy things”, most importantly, the
Eucharist. It also refers to a communion of all believers, both living and
deceased, it is the unified body of Christ. The reference refers to all saints,
all believers in Christ, saints with a lowercase “s”. The reference refers to
us, to you and me. But what about the Saints that we so often hear about?
The ones whose heads were chopped off for their beliefs? The ones who were
crucified upside down or were thrown into a lion’s den? Where do they fit into
the Church’s teaching?
The history of Saints in the Church is long and profound but
let’s start with a process we have all heard of yet may not have a deep
understanding of, the process of being canonized a saint. A recent saint canonized
in 2004 by Pope John Paul II is St. Gianna Beretta Molla, I will use her story
to help illuminate this complex process.
Canonization is a process that starts generally 5 years
after the individual’s death and follows these steps:
(1) “Servant of God”. A bishop gives permission to
open an investigation into a candidate for sainthood in response to a petition
by members of the Church. This investigation, run by a council of laypeople –generally started
by friends or family members– is
quite exhaustive, it includes detailed accounts of speeches, writings and eye
witness accounts of the individual’s work and life recorded in a detailed
biography. The conclusion of the individual ends in presenting the detailed
account of this individual, now called a “Servant of God”, to the Congregation
for the Causes of the Saints (part of the Roman Curia). The Servant of God is
designated to a particular individual, called a postulator. The postulator
gathers more evidence and eventually receives permission to exhume the body for
examination.
-St. Gianna’s cause was opened up by the
Cardinal of Milan after hearing stories of her holiness and dedication to a
virtuous life. St. Gianna’s family had been presented with an award by the
administration of Milan honoring her memory ten years prior. This award specifically
honored her commitment to life – pregnant with her fourth child, St. Gianna
refused an abortion and hysterectomy even after realizing that continuing the
pregnancy could result in death. St. Gianna delivered her last child on April
21, 1962 and died as a result of complications with the pregnancy seven days
later.
(2) “Heroic in Virtue”. If the postulator is able to
gather enough evidence that the “Servant of God” has demonstrated the cardinal
and theological virtues to a heroic degree, he is recommended to the Pope. At
this point, the Pope can declare the “Servant of God” as “Venerable”. At this
point, the Catholic Church encourages its members to pray for a miracle through
the intercession of this Hero in Virtue.
-Evidence was gathered by the newly formed
Gianna Physician’s Guild in conjunction with the Cardinal Carlo Martini,
Archbishop of Milan. Her case was presented to Pope John Paul II and received official
approval to continue the process.
(3) “Blessed”. Beatification is the last step before
being declared a Saint. For an individual to be beatified, they must be
declared either a martyr or a confessor. In order to be considered a confessor,
a miracle
must have taken place through his or her intercession. The
miracle is determined through an official Vatican commission through a process similar
to the scientific methodology.
-Because St. Gianna was not a martyr, a
miracle had to be attributed to her in order for her to become “blessed”. St.
Gianna’s first miracle story takes place in Brazil in a hospital founded by her
brother. A young woman was brought in one night having delivered her fourth child
a couple days earlier. The young woman had a serious rectal-vaginal fistula
that was only able to be operated on in a hospital over 600 kilometers away.
Transporting the patient carried serious risks. Three of the nurses at the
hospital started praying for the intercession of Gianna and according to the
patient, the pain immediately subsided. Upon examination, it was found that the
fistula had completely disappeared.
(4) “Saint”. The canonization process is complete at
the declaration of Sainthood. In order to be recognized as a Saint, another
miracle must be attributed to the individual. Once an individual becomes a
Saint, they are assigned a feast day in the Catholic Church.
-The second miracle attributed to St. Gianna
concerns a baby born without amniotic fluid. Due to a large blood clot, a
physician informed his patient that her pregnancy would most likely result in a
spontaneous abortion. Deciding to continue with the pregnancy, she returned to
the doctor at 16 weeks knowing something had gone wrong. An ultrasound showed
that the membranes had broken and there was no amniotic fluid, meaning that the
child and mother were in serious danger. When treatment failed, doctors
predicted that the baby would die. The local Bishop was alerted to their
predicament and urged them to pray through the intercession of Blessed Gianna.
After many precarious months and a complicated C-section that resulted with in
more complications, a healthy baby was born and the mother regained her health.
St. Gianna was canonized on May 16, 2004. Her feast day is celebrated on April
28th.
Besides canonization, here are some more fun facts about
Saints:
-In the Roman Catholic Church, there are over 10,000 saints.
-We do not pray to Saints, we pray with them. Remember there
is a difference between asking for a Saint to pray on your behalf and praying
to God.
-At Baptism, we are assigned a Patron saint and given their
name, generally your first or middle name.
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