How to become a Saint in 8 steps
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Titus Brandsma. Illustration: Roel Venderbosch.
Former Rector Magnificus Titus Brandsma is well on his way to become a Saint. Over the centuries, the Vatican has developed quite an impressive canonisation procedure. An attempt at a summary in 8 steps.
1. Be dead
Right off the most important condition for canonisation. Not always as easy as it seems.
2. Have a spotless reputation
Canonisation is not for crooks or villains. Immediately after your death people should say: This was a truly exceptional man or woman. And your ‘blessed reputation’ should continue to last long after your death.
3. Be worshipped
People say that ‘Only the forgotten are truly dead’. If you want to be canonised, though, the opposite applies. If a person is still worshipped years after his or her death, the Diocese may initiate an investigation into canonisation.
4. Have an ambassador (preferably a rich one!)
A beatification or canonisation doesn’t only take a lot of time, it also costs a lot of money. A person or institution to plead your case and pay the procedural costs is a must for any candidate Saint.
5. Have been a good person
A spotless reputation is not enough to become a Saint. Every word you’ve ever written is thoroughly scrutinised. Friends and family are questioned. If there’s the slightest doubt concerning your goodness, the entire procedure will be aborted.
6. A first miracle
To become a Saint, you first need to be beatified. This requires a miracle, pretty much always recovery from an incurable disease after praying to the candidate Saint. Ten independent doctors investigate the recovery and theologians check whether the aspiring Saint was responsible. A committee of Cardinals and Bishops then issues a recommendation to the Pope.
7. A second miracle
Congratulations! You have been beatified and may now be worshipped in your own Diocese. For global worship, all you need is a second miracle. This also applies to martyrs. You should therefore repeat Step 6.
8. Earn the Pope’s favour
God’s ways are unfathomable and the same can be said of the Pope. He alone decides whether and when a canonisation Mass takes place on Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. The reasons for his decision are unknown: they belong to the secrets of the Vatican.
Well on the way: Titus Brandsma
Carmelite and priest Titus Brandsma was one of the first professors of Radboud University. He was appointed Professor of Philosophy and Mysticism in 1923, and was Rector Magnificus in the academic year 1932-1933. Brandsma was arrested on 19 January 1942 for resisting the Nazi regime. He died in Dachau on 26 July 1942.
“Since he died a martyr, Titus Brandsma was beatified immediately”, explains Anne-Marie Bos from the Titus Brandsma Institute. Brandsma then only needed a miracle to be canonised and this has now also happened.
Bos: “In 2004, a Carmelite Father in Florida suffered from a skin cancer that had metastasised to his head and neck. His life expectancy was so minimal that the fact that he’s still alive today, fourteen years later, is truly a miracle. One he owes to his worship of Titus Brandsma.”
A committee of Florida doctors have already declared it a miracle that the man is still alive. The file is now at the Vatican. “We expect the three committees to have completed their investigation within six months,” says Bos.
It will then be up to the Pope to decide if and when Brandsma is to be canonised. Bos: “If this happens, there’ll be a big celebration!
Karen Kermis wrote on 29 oktober 2019 at 15:27
People/ saints aren’t worshipped. They’re honored and revered. Only God is worshipped. Please reword. Thanks