Mike Baracco
Religion 195B
Prof. Lubin
Saints of Catholicism
Keywords: saint,
sainthood, miracles, Roman Catholic, veneration, canonization
I. Abstract
This paper attempts to explain
the functions of sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. By examining such aspects as the structure
and history of sainthood one can learn much about the system in general. This paper will explain how it was that
saints were first recognized in Catholicism, how the system of sainthood is structured,
and why to this day it has critics. Also
discussed in this paper are the miracles that surround sainthood and their
effect on the people of the Church as well as others.
II. Scope and Purpose
of System
The notion
of sainthood appeared in the Christian religion shortly after the age of Jesus
Christ. During this period the word
“saint” meant “holy person” and was used to refer to many different people;
living or deceased (Kieckhefer 2).
However, over time this mere word began to take on a much more important
meaning by those who bore the title and by the Christian community in
general. As one author wrote, “The
history of Christianity is in many ways the history of those holy men and women
who have been revered as saints” (Woodward 137). The purpose of sainthood or achieving
sainthood is to recognize someone who has devoted their life to God and
becoming a holy person. Many saints,
especially ones in earlier centuries, molded their lives after that of Jesus’. This is easily seen with the case of martyrs,
people who died for their religion, who were the first saints venerated during
Roman times. At this time it was
believed that it wasn’t enough to live a life like Christ, one must die like
Christ as well. “The martyrs…manifested
the highest ideal of the early Church: they maintained their faith in the face
of extreme adversity” (Kieckhefer 11).
The identification
of sainthood pertains almost exclusively to believers in God. In this case it is Christian society,
however; saints and likenesses to saints are acknowledged in most other world
religions as well. The achievement of
sainthood itself would require someone who is devoted to God and a certain way
of life. This way of life is outlined in
the Code of Canon Law and includes a somewhat ascetic life in which one helps
others. In most cases it would also
require some type of direct association to God since saints are required to
perform miracles which must be recognized by the Church in order to be
canonized. The miracles that must be
performed are discussed in more detail later on. Saints can be worshipped by
any Christian who believes in them.
Canonized saints have a cult and many times a shrine or temple of some
sort dedicated to them. Saints can be
prayed to and asked for help in much the same way as God in the Christian
religion, which actually creates many critics to the belief in saints.
III. Authority
Structure
A. Sources and Criteria of Valid
Knowledge
The sources
of knowledge on saints and sainthood are found mostly in liturgy and
writings. One of the most significant sources of
knowledge on saints comes from the Bible.
In many cases, an entire vigil service may be devoted to the life or
deeds of a saint. Liturgies that commemorate
saints like this provide knowledge about the saint as well as about the broader
sense of sainthood. Much of the New
Testament contains stories that have been documented by disciples explaining miracles
performed by saints or general events which occurred in saints’ lives. Many of these stories represent the life of a
saint as paralleling the life of Jesus (Woodward 138). These stories show the importance of a saint
to live a life like that of Christ. Other
writings besides the Bible have documented the activities of saints as well. These writings, which contain a vast
knowledge on the lives of many saints, are called hagiographies. Hagiographies compile many different texts in
order to accurately map the life of a saint.
These writings are considered a valid source of knowledge, however; some
information presented in hagiographies may be obtained through sources that are
not completely reliable. The
hagiographer must piece together many different sources and in doing so they
must often use stories or myths of saints that may or may not be fully
recognized as accredited sources on saints.
The other
source of knowledge on saints comes from the hierarchy of the Catholic
Church. The decision on the process of
canonization falls on the Pope, who has the sole authority on the matter. After the death of a potential saint, the
Church makes the decision of whether or not this person is in heaven. If it was decided that the person was in
heaven the Church would then have to witness and acknowledge miracles performed
by this person, in life and death, to determine if they are deserving of
canonization (Kieckhefer 6). Also
possessing knowledge in the system of sainthood were monks. These monks outlined what constitutes
saintliness, not surprisingly; they included asceticism as one
requirement. Also included were the moral
elements of contemplation and action, and the manifestations of power such as
miracles and visions (Kieckhefer 12).
Between the writings on saints and rules laid forth by Church officials,
sources of valid knowledge on the subject of saints were established.
B. Methods of Inquiry
Acquiring
knowledge on sainthood or on living like a saint is not a very easy task. Although there are writings on the subject,
“…no single book, much less a single chapter, could encompass all the miracles
Christians have attributed to their saints, much less all the figures who have,
over the last two thousand years, been revered as saints” (Woodward 139). However, the first place to look for
knowledge on saints would have to be the New Testament. The biographers in the Bible, i.e. Matthew,
recorded miracles and proclaimed who they believed to be saints. From an in depth analysis of these
biographies in the Bible as well as the hagiographies discussed earlier, much
knowledge can be obtained on the system of sainthood. Knowledge of saints can also be accessed from
shrines that have been devoted to a particular saint. Within these shrines are contained portraits
and pictures, among other relics, that portray the life and miracles of saints.
Often times these visual representations are much more elaborate than the
events when read in text (Abou-El-Haj 35).
If a person desires the aid of a saint they can obtain it quite
easily. The most popular way to seek a
saint’s aid would probably be to pray to the particular saint whose advice or
help is needed. In many instances, a
particular saint will have a formal prayer that is ascribed to them and by
saying or repeating this prayer; one will receive the aid requested by the
saint. Another way to seek a saint’s aid
would be to visit a shrine devoted to the saint as mentioned above.
In the case
that an individual is attempting to acquire knowledge on the system in an
attempt to become a part of the system the same steps of inquiry can be
followed, but the knowledge obtained must be put to use. For instance, readings from the Bible must
not only be understood but must also be obeyed and followed. In this way the individual who has chosen
this task must devote a life to God and model their life after that of other
saints and Jesus Christ himself. As
Jesus says in the Bible, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor…then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). If a person sanctifies himself in this manner
and is thought to be a saint, the only proof that can validate the claim is the
proof given by the Church. The Church
must recognize the person’s sanctity and must also observe that a miracle was
performed by the person. The act of the
miracle is the underlying validity of sainthood.
C. Institutions and Professional Structure
The authority of sainthood lies
in the hierarchy of the Church. Since
saints cannot be canonized until after their death, there is no leadership or
professional structure provided by them themselves. The recognition of saints may be popular and
informal or official and formal, as in the canonization process (Woodward
137). The Church labeled saints as being
one of three types:
“First,...a
saint is a person who is leading or has
led a life of
heroic virtue. Second, a saint is a
person who has
gone to heaven, whether that fact
is recognized or
not…Third,…a saint is a person
who, by virtue of
the Church’s judgment that he
or she is in
heaven, is the legitimate object of
public cult”
(Kieckhefer 3).
Being the central institution of sainthood the Church also
put forth The Code of Canon Law, which contains detailed instructions about
recognizing saints in the Roman Catholic Church. These laws state that along with the acts
above mentioned, “miracles done through the intercession of the saint are
necessary before one can be canonized” (Cunningham 23). The miracle aspect of canonization receives
skeptical analysis from both the scientific community as well as the outside
community in general. However, it is not
the decision of scientists or the public whether or not a miracle has been
performed. The Canon Laws, Pope and
Church make up the professional structure of sainthood and regulate most, if
not all, of the situations pertaining to it.
IV. History
Sainthood
in Christianity began during the time of the
When
Christianity reached the Middle Ages, the cults and legends of saints grew
elaborately. During this time many
stories of miracles and wondrous events were told and written. Also, pilgrimages to shrines and temples of
saints became increasingly popular (Kieckhefer 4). Many of the shrines at this time had grown
massive and there were reports of people being healed within the shrines. These types of stories and occurrences caused
the cult of saints to become a public phenomenon. It was not uncommon at this time to see mobs
of people stampede to see relics of saints as well as form huge parades to
honor a saint (Abou-El-Haj 15). Because
of the immense growth of sainthood during these times the Church made the
decision to centralize the canonization process. As discussed earlier, the Pope now had sole
authority in the process of canonizing
saints and stricter rules were followed.
However, in
the history of sainthood, it cannot be said that all Christians supported its
worship. In fact, there were many
critics to the idea, the largest and also most famous being Martin Luther. During the 16th century he began
the Protestant Reformation in which he declared that the virtuous works of
saints brought them no special merit, saints could act as mediators no more
than priests could, and that the cult of saints was idolatrous and pagan
(kieckhefer 7). However, in Catholicism,
these accusations were defended (see next section) and devotion to saints
remained firm.
The
publicity given to saints has remained in the Catholic Church for ages,
however; in the 1960’s the Church did make a few moderations. At that time saints were given incredible
attention; appearing in prayers, sermons, and even having holidays for many of
them. The Church felt that changes
needed to be made and therefore deleted many of the holidays given to saints
and made the addition of saints more
select to decrease the attention given to them (kieckhefer 9).
V. Representative
Examples of Argumentation
As pointed
out earlier the knowledge of sainthood is explained in the liturgy of the Bible
as well as hagiographies. However, this
knowledge has been attacked by many critics, especially followers of the
Protestant Revolution. The Catholic
Church has defended accusations such as those by Martin Luther in many
ways. The Church says that the saints
are not worshipped in place of God but are rather appreciated for their
contributions in the name of God. They
are placed beside God in heaven and are in a sense his helpers. As one author puts it, “Veneration of the
saints does not draw the individual Christian away from the broader Church into
acts of private devotion but serves as a bond uniting each individual to the
total body of Christ” (Kieckhefer 37).
Another
point of conflict, which can sometimes fringe on the scientific boundary, is
the belief in miracles. The Church
hierarchy must decide whether a miracle is in fact that which it claims, and
then if it is worthy of canonization.
From the outsider’s point of view, one could try to explain miracle-like
happenings through the use of only science.
In some cases this may be achieved but in others it may remain
inconclusive and instead be the headliner of an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries”. When it comes to the question of miracles;
whether they are real?, an act of God?, etc., the Church will always turn to
faith whereas the scientist will turn to science. Therefore, there is no real defense for
miracles except the pure belief in them.
VI. Suggested
Position in Comparative Scales
A. Tradition (1)------Experience
(10): 2
Sainthood
is primarily based on traditional authority in the Catholic Church. Although people may experience the potential
miracles of saints, only the Church can decide whether or not it is truly what
is proclaimed.
B. Centralized Authority (1)---
Decentralized Authority (10): 1
Sainthood is completely centralized
within the Roman Catholic Church and almost all authority is given to the Pope
and high officials.
C. Invisible Realities (1)--- Earthly
Realities (10): 5
Sainthood
relies on both invisible realities as much as earthly ones. For a saint to be canonized it must first be
assumed that they are in heaven, however; earthly miracles must then be
performed.
D. Moral Objectives (1)--- Pragmatic
Aims (10): 5
A saint must live a
moral life following in the footsteps of Jesus, however; they must also be able
to perform miracles such as healing.
Many people argue as to what is the most important objective to become a
saint; moral or pragmatic?
E. Primarily divine power
(1)---Individual Power (10): 3
If saints are to be
regarded as divine beings than power is reserved for a divine being. However, saints are individuals at some point
and have been recorded working miracles in their earthly, or individual body. For this reason, power is mostly divine but
not completely.
Bibliography
I. Primary Sources:
The Holy Bible: New International Version.
1984.
Secondary sources made reference to
it on many occasions and it contained many examples of sainthood as cited by
the disciples.
II. Secondary Sources:
Abou-El-Haj, Barbara. The Medieval Cult of Saints:
Formations and Translations.
Had an in
depth look of the history of saint cults.
Helped a fair amount.
Cunningham, Lawrence S. The Meaning of Saints.
This book
dealt mostly with the history of sainthood.
Kieckhefer, Richard, and George D. Bond, eds. Sainthood:
Its Manifestations in World
Religions.
Main source
used. Helped in every section of paper. Excellent source.
Kolb, Robert. For All the Saints.
This book gave
information on the Protestant denial of saints.
Noble, Thomas F. X., and Thomas Head, eds. Soldiers of
Christ.
This book
contained individual stories of saints throughout history.
Van Dam, Raymond. Saints and Their Miracles in Late
Antique
This book
focused primarily on the saints of a particular time period in
Woodward, Kenneth L. The Book of Miracles.
Extremely helpful in almost all sections of paper. Had information pertaining to
all aspects
of sainthood. Used frequently.