For a miracle to be accepted, it must be scrutinised by a panel of independent experts in the field.

It must be scientifically verifiable as ‘beyond human capability and inexplicable other than in terms of the miraculous’. Generally, medical cures are the easiest to verify according to scientific, measurable criteria.

Types of Saint

The earliest feast days of saints were those of martyrs, venerated as having shown for Christ the greatest form of love in their willingness to die a violent death rather than reject their faith.

The title “confessor” was used for saints who had confessed their faith in Christ by their lives rather than by their deaths. Martyrs are regarded as dying in the service of the Lord, and confessors are people who died natural deaths. A broader range of titles was used later, such as: Virgin, Pastor, Bishop, Monk, Priest, Founder, Abbot, Apostle, Doctor of the Church.

Cardinal Newman was, therefore:

• a Confessor: he confessed his faith by his life and died a natural death
• a pastor: he was a priest
• because of his immense theological contribution, he could, at a later date, be made a Doctor of the Church.

The Process

This is a multi-stage process requiring ongoing dialogue between the Bishops’ Conference of the country in which the possible saint lived and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.

Stage 1

Local interest – People who knew the person or knew of his or her life believe that the individual ‘gave an example of holiness that we can follow with confidence’. At least 5 years must have passed since the death of the candidate. This is to allow greater balance and objectivity in evaluating the case and to let the emotions of the moment dissipate.

Stage 2

Information gathering – The Congregation for the Causes of Saints instructs the bishop of the diocese in which the person died whose beatification is being requested, to begin collecting the evidence for their claim of holiness. Witnesses are called before the tribunal and all documents regarding the candidate must be gathered. At the end of the stage, the candidate might be declared to be a ‘Servant of God’.

Stage 3

More information – Further scrutiny of the life, writings etc. by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints might lead to the candidate being declared ‘Venerable’.

Stage 4

More information and a miracle – The Congregation for the Causes of Saints want evidence that people are being drawn to prayer and holiness through the candidate. As a sign of a special relationship between the candidate and God, a miracle is required which, if accepted, enables the person to be declared ‘Blessed’. The ceremony is called beatification and usually takes place in the country where the candidate lived and worked. It is usually performed by a representative of the Pope, generally from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Stage 5

More information and another miracle – For canonization another miracle is needed, attributed to the intercession of the Blessed and having occurred after his beatification. If the second claim of a miracle is accepted, the candidate will be accepted as a Saint in a canonisation ceremony, performed by the Pope, usually in Rome. Canonisation is a declaration that someone can be venerated by the universal Church as ‘an example of holiness that we can follow with confidence’.

The Verdict

The final verdict depends on an examination (theological) by nine theologians who give their vote.

If the majority of the theologians are in favour, the cause is passed on for examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints. If their judgment is favourable, the Prefect of the Congregation presents the results of the entire course of the cause to the Pope, who gives his approval and authorizes the congregation to draft the decree.

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Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain.

St Bede – (672 / 673 – 26 May 735)

Was a Northumbrian monk, author and scholar. His book, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title “The Father of English History”. In 1899, Bede was made a Doctor of the Church by Leo XIII; he is the only native of Great Britain to achieve this designation (Anselm of Canterbury, also a Doctor of the Church, was originally from Italy).

St Edward the Confessor – (c. 1003 – 5 January 1066)

Son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066. Edward was canonized in 1161 by Pope Alexander III. From the reign of Henry II of England to 1348 he was considered to be the patron saint of England, when he was replaced in this role by Saint George, and he has remained the patron saint of the Royal Family.

St Thomas of Canterbury – (1118 – 29 December 1170)

Later also known as Thomas à Becket, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was assassinated by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, Pope Alexander canonised him and the murdered priest was elevated to sainthood.

St John Fisher – (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535)

Was an English Roman Catholic Bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Anglican calendar of saints. Fisher was executed by order of King Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as Head of the Church of England. He is the only member of the College of Cardinals to have suffered martyrdom.

St Margaret Clitherow – (1556 – March 25, 1586)

Is an English saint and martyr, sometimes called “the Pearl of York”. She was executed for refusing to testify to hiding priests so as to prevent a trial that would entail her children being made to testify and therefore they would be tortured, and she was executed by being crushed to death – the standard punishment for refusal to plead. She was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI and canonised in 1970 by Pope Paul VI along with other martyrs from England and Wales.

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Was a bishop; he was canonised in 1120 is the patron saint of Wales. He possibly built Glastonbury Abbey. His tomb at St David’s Cathedral was a popular place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages.

St Beuno – (died 640)

Was Abbot of Clynnog Fawr in Gwynedd, on the Llŷn Peninsula. He was also the guardian and restorer to life of his niece, the virgin Saint Winefride.

St Winifrede – (called in her native Welsh: Gwenffrewi)

Was a 7th century Welsh noblewoman who was canonized after dying for the sake of her chastity. A healing spring at the site of her death is now a shrine and pilgrimage site called St Winefride’s Well in Holywell, known as the Lourdes of Wales.

St David Lewis of Usk – (1616 – 27 August 1679)

Is remembered as one of the Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Lewis said in his dying speech, “discover the plot I could not, as I knew of none; and conform I would not, for it was against my conscience”. He was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

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Apostle and martyr, brother of St Peter, patron of Scotland since the middle of the tenth century.

St Margaret of Scotland

Margaret was born in 1046 and was a member of an ancient English royal family. She was a direct descendant of King Alfred and was the granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside of England through his son Edward. Patroness of Scotland, alongside St Andrew.

St John Ogilvie, (1579 – 10 March 1615).

As a martyr of the Counter-Reformation he was beatified in 1929 and canonised in 1976. He is the only post-Reformation saint from Scotland.

St John Duns Scotus – (c. 1265 – November 8, 1308)

Was one of the more important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages. He developed a complex argument for the existence of God, and argued for the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

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Seeing a statue of Saint Therese of Lisieux who lost her mother when she was a child might make us feel less alone when we are grieving.

A picture of Saint Francis of Assisi might remind us of how much he loved God’s creation and make us more aware of our environment.

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• They are excellent role model
• They are unusually good at teaching people to live lives of goodness
• They act as channels of God’s power
• They are intercessors
• They are generous and unselfish
• They are holy and are able to interpret God and holiness for others

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• One Catholic website states that “There are over 10,000 named saints and beati (blessed, holy people) from history, the Roman Martyrology and Orthodox sources, but there has been no definitive head count”. Taken from the Catholic Online website.
• The Catholic Church teaches that it does not, in fact, make anyone a saint. Rather, it recognises a saint.

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• An example of holiness that we can follow with confidence.
• The person who kept on trying when everybody else gave up.
• ‘Spiritual force-fields’, exerting a powerful attractive influence on followers but also touching the inner lives of others in ways that transform them for the better.
• A person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the Catholic Church, and is therefore considered to be in Heaven.
• A saint is always someone through whose life we learn what God is like – and of what we are called to be. Only God ‘makes’ saints. The church merely identifies from time to time a few of these for imitation.
• Anyone who is in Heaven, whether recognised here on earth, or not (Eastern Orthodox definition)

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