FESTIVAL OF SAINTS

The saints of the church are a diverse group of people with varied and interesting stories.
Their ranks include martyrs, kings and queens, missionaries, widows, theologians,
parents, nuns and priests, and “everyday people” who dedicated their lives to the loving
pursuit of God.

In the early church there was no formal canonization, but the cult of local martyrs was
widespread and was regulated by the bishop of the diocese. The translation of
the martyr’s remains from the place of burial to a church was equivalent to
canonization. Gradually, ecclesiastical authorities intervened more directly in the
process of canonization. By the 10th century appeals were made to the pope. The
first saint canonized by a pope was Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg, who died in 973 and
was canonized by Pope John XV at the Lateran Council of 993. Pope Alexander
III (1159–81) began to reserve the cases of canonization to the Holy See, and this
became general law under Gregory IX (1227–41).

In Roman Catholicism and certain other Christian faith traditions, a saint is a holy
person who is known for his or her “heroic sanctity” and who is thought to be in heaven.
In the 10th century, Pope John XV formalized a process for the identification of saints.
Before that time, saints were largely established by public cult. There are more than
10,000 saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, though the names and
histories of some of these holy men and women have been lost to history.