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CANONIZATION

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 193 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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CANONIZATION , in its widest sense, an See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act by which in the See also:

Christian See also:

Church the ecclesiastical authority grants to a deceased believer the See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour of public cultus. In the See also:

early Church there was no formal canonization. The cultus applied at first to See also:

LOCAL

local martyrs, and it was only in exceptional circumstances that a See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of judiciary inquiry and See also:

EXPRESS (through the French from the past participle of the Lat. exprimere, to press out, by transference used of representing objects in painting or sculpture, or of thoughts, &c. in words)

express decision became necessary to legitimate this cultus. The See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar situation of the Church of See also:

Africa explains the Vindicatio martyrum, which was early practised there (Optatus Milevit., i. 16). In the cultus rendered to confessors, the authorization of the Church had See also:

long been merely implicit. But when an express decision was given, it was the See also:

bishop who gave it. Gradually the canonization of See also:

SAINTS, BATTLE OF THE

saints came to be included in the centralizing See also:

MOVEMENT

movement which reserved to the See also:

pope the most important acts of ecclesiastical See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power. The earliest acknowledged instance of canonization by the pope is that of Ulric of See also:

Augsburg, who was declared a See also:

SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ")

saint by See also:

John XV. in A.D. 993• From that See also:

time the pontifical intervention became more and more frequent, and, in practice, the right of the bishops in the See also:

MATTER

matter of canonization continued to grow more restricted. In 1170 the new right was sufficiently established for Pope See also:

Alexander III. to affirm that the bishops could not See also:

INSTITUTE (from Lat. instituere, to establish or set up)

institute the cultus of a new saint without the authority of the See also:

ROMAN

Roman Church (Cap. Audivimus, Decret.

De Rell. et venerat. Sanctorum, iii. 115). The 12th and, especially, the 13th centuries furnish many examples of canonizations pronounced by the popes, and the See also:

PROCEDURE (Fr. procedure, from Lat. procedere, to go for-ward)

procedure of this See also:

period is well ascertained. It was much more See also:

SUMMARY

summary than that practised in See also:

MODERN

modern times. The See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of those who had known the See also:

HOLY

holy personages was collected on the spot. The inquiry was as rapid as the See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment, and both often took See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time after the See also:

DEATH

death of the saint, as in the cases of St See also:

Thomas of See also:

Canterbury (died 1170, canonized 1173), St See also:

Peter of See also:

CASTELNAU, MICHEL DE, SIEUR DE LA MAUVTSSIERE (c. 1520-1592)

Castelnau (died on the 15th of See also:

JANUARY

January 1208, canonized on the 12th of See also:

March of the same See also:

YEAR

year), St See also:

Francis of See also:

ASSISI (anc. Asisium)

Assisi (died on the 4th of See also:

OCTOBER

October 1226, canonized on the loth of See also:

JULY

July 1228), and St See also:

Anthony of See also:

PADUA (Lat. Patavium ; Ital. Padova)

Padua (died on the 13th of See also:

JUNE

June 1231, canonized on the 3rd of June 1232). At this period there was no marked difference between canonization and See also:

BEATIFICATION (from the Lat. beatus, happy, blessed, and facere, to make)

beatification. In modern practice, as definitively settled by the decrees of Pope See also:

Urban VIII. (1625 and 1634), thetwo acts are, totally distinct. Canonization is the See also:

SOLEMN (Lat. sollemnis, sollemnis, less correctly solennis, yearly, annual; from sollus = totus, whole, entire, Gr. Mos., and annus, year)

solemn and definitive act by which the pope decrees the plenitude of public honours. Beatification consists in permitting a cultus, the manifestations of which are restricted, and is merely a step towards canonization.

The procedure at See also:

PRESENT

present followed at the Roman See also:

CURIA

curia is either exceptional or See also:

COMMON

common. The approval of immemorial cultus comes within the See also:

CATEGORY (Gr. Karrlyopia, " accusation ")

category of exceptional procedure. Urban VIII., while forbidding the rendering of a public cultus without authorization from the Holy See, made an exception in favour of the blessed who were at that time (1625) in See also:

possession of an immemorial cultus, i.e. dating back at least a See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century (1525). The procedure per viam casus excepti consists in the legitimation of a cultus which has been rendered to a saint for a very long time. The causes of the martyrs (declarationis martyrii) also are exceptional. Juridical See also:

PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof is required of the fact of the martyrdom and of its cause, i.e. it must be established that the servant of See also:

God was put to death through hatred of the faith. These are the two cases which constitute exceptional procedure. The common procedure is that in which the cause is prosecuted per viam non cultus. It is, in reality, a suit at See also:

law, pleaded before the tribunal of the See also:

CONGREGATION (Lat. congregatio, a gathering together, from cum, with, grex, gregis, a flock, herd)

Congregation of See also:

RITES

Rites, which is a permanent See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission of cardinals, assisted by a certain number of sub-See also:

ORDINATE

ordinate See also:

OFFICERS

officers and presided over by a See also:

CARDINAL (Lat. cardinalis)

cardinal. The supreme See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge in the matter is the pope himself. The postulator, who is the mandatory of a See also:

DIOCESE (formed on Fr. diocese, in place of the Eng. form diocess—current until the 19th century—from Lat. dioecesis, med. Lat. variant diocesis, from Gr. Swucio•tc, " house-keeping," " administration," &miceas, " to keep house," " to govern ")

diocese or ecclesiastical commonalty, is the See also:

SOLICITOR

solicitor. He must furnish the proofs, which are collected according to very stringent rules.

The See also:

PROMOTER

promoter of the faith, popularly called the " See also:

DEVIL (Gr. &a,3oXos, " slanderer," from &ctflisXX sty, to slander)

devil's See also:

ADVOCATE (Lat. advocatus, from advocare, to summon, especially in law to call in the aid of a counsel or witness, and so generally to summon to one's assistance)

advocate " (See also:

ADVOCATES, FACULTY OF

advocates diaboli), is the-See also:

DEFENDANT

defendant, whose See also:

OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty is to point out to the tribunal the weak points of the See also:

case. The procedure is loaded with many formalities, of which the See also:

HISTORICAL

historical explanation lies in the tribunals of the See also:

ancient See also:

SYSTEM

system, and which considerably delay the progress of the causes. The first decisive step is the introduction of the cause. If, by the See also:

ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

advice of the cardinals who have examined the documents, the pope pronounce his approval, the servant of God receives the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of " See also:

VENERABLE (Lat. venerabilis, worthy of reverence, venerari, to reverence, to worship, allied to Venus, love; the Indo-Germ. root is wen-, to desire, whence Eng. " win, properly to struggle for, hence to gain)

Venerable," but is not entitled to any manifestation of cultus. Only in the event of the claimant passing this test successfully can the essential See also:

PART

part of the procedure be begun, which will result in conferring on the Venerable the title of " Blessed." This part consists in three distinct proceedings: (1) to establish a reputation for sanctity, (2) to establish the heroic quality of the virtues, (3) to prove the working of miracles. A favourable judgment on all three of these tests is called the See also:

DECREE (from the past participle, decretus, of Lat. decernere)

decree de tuto, by which the pope decides that they may safely proceed to the solemn beatification of the servant of God (Tuto procedi potest ad solemnem V.S.D.N. beatificationem). In the ceremony of beatification the essential part consists in the See also:

READING

reading of the pontifical brief, placing the Venerable in the See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank of the Blessed, which is done during a solemn See also:

mass, celebrated with See also:

SPECIAL

special rites in the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

hall above the See also:

VESTIBULE (from Lat. vestibulum)

vestibule of the See also:

BASILICA

basilica of St Peter. The See also:

PROCESS

process of canonization, which follows that of beatification, is usually less lengthy. It consists principally.in the discussion of the miracles (usually two in number) obtained by the intercession of the Blessed since the decree of beatification. After a great number of formalities and prayers, the pope pronounces the See also:

SENTENCE (Lat. sententia, a way of thinking, opinion, judgment; vote, sentire, to feel, think)

sentence, and indicates eventually the See also:

day on which he will proceed to the ceremony of canonization, which takes place with great solemnity in the basilica of St Peter. The extremely complicated procedure which is prescribed for the conduct of the cases in See also:

order to ensure every opportunity for exercising rigour and discretion, considerably retards the progress of the causes, and necessitates a numerous See also:

STAFF (O. Eng. staef, cf. Du. staf, Ger. Stab, &c.; Icel. stafr meant also a written letter, and O. Eng. stafas, the letters of the alphabet; " stave," one of the thin pieces of wood of which a cask is made, is a doublet)

staff. This circumstance, together with the See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom of ornamenting the basilica of St Peter very richly on the day of the ceremony, accounts for the considerable cost which a canonization entails.

To prevent abuses, a See also:

minute See also:

TARIFF (adapted in English from the French; the word comes through the Spanish tarifa, a list or schedule of prices, from the Arabic, ta'rifa, information, an inventory, 'arf, know-ledge)

tariff of expenses was See also:

DRAWN

drawn up during the pontificate of See also:

Leo XIII. The See also:

Greek Church, represented by the See also:

PATRIARCH (M.E. and O. Fr. patriarche, Lat. patriarcha, Gr. aarpuipxtis, from srarptu., clan, and apxil, rule)

patriarch of See also:

Constantinople, and the See also:

RUSSIAN

Russian Church, represented by the Holy See also:

Synod, also canonize their saints after a preliminary examination of their titles to public cultus. Their procedure is less rigorous than that of the Roman Church, and as yet has been but imperfectly studied. See J. Fontanini, Codex Constitulionum quas summi pontifices ediderunt in solemni canonizatione sanctorum (See also:

Rome, 1729, a collection of See also:

ORIGINAL

original documents); Pr. Lambertini (Pope See also:

Benedict XIV.), De servorum Dei beatificatione et beatorum canonizatione (See also:

Bologna, 1734-1738), several times reprinted, and more remarkable for erudition and knowledge of See also:

CANON

canon law than for historical See also:

criticism; Al. Lauri, Codex See also:

pro postulatoribus causarum beatifications et canonizationis, recognovit See also:

Joseph Fornari (Romae, 1899) ; F. W. See also:

Faber, See also:

ESSAY, ESSAYIST (Fr. essai, Late Lat. exagium, a weighing or balance; exigere, to examine; the term in general meaning any trial or effort)

Essay on. Beatification, Canonization, (See also:

LONDON

London, 1848) ; A. Boudinhon, See also:

Les Proses de beatification et de canonisation (See also:

Paris, 1905) ; E. Golubinskij, Istorija Kanonizacii sviatich v russko j gerkvi (See also:

Moscow, 1903).

(H.

End of Article: CANONIZATION

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