Throughout history, the Catholic church has appointed more than 3,000 people the distinction of Sainthood. These Saints are usually chosen after death because of the way they chose to live their life. This is not a quick process and for some, decades or centuries passed before they were recognized for the honor.

In 1983, Pope John Paul II made an unprecedented move and canonized 300 qualified people, he also made some significant changes to the whole process of how to become a Saint. These changes were responsible for giving people hope that someone they knew and greatly admired could possible be recognized as a Saint.http://people.howstuffworks.com/question619.htm

There are many saints of the Catholic church who are easily recognized by the public:

• St. Christopher
• St. Mary Magdalene
• St. Rose of Lima
• St. Valentine
• St. Nicholas
• St. Francis of Assisihttp://www.catholic.org/saints/popular.php

What is a Saint?

A Saint is any person or persons who have been recognized by the Catholic church (after years of verification) as holy. A Saint is considered someone who will answer prayers and look over you throughout your life. The very early Catholic church did not have a formal process by which they named someone a Saint, but the present process had been in place for at least 200 years. http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/

What is a Martyr Saint?

A martyred Saint is any Saint who was killed in the name of their religious cause. St. Valentine, St Basil and St. Peter are all martyred Saints. http://www.catholic.org/search_site.php?search_term=martyred+saint&qqq=Saints&limit_1=100

When Mother Teresa died in 1997, the whole world mourned the great loss. Her death sent an immediate flood of calls and letters to the Vatican begging for her to be considered as a Saint. The people wanted her to be canonized immediately because of all of the charity work and humanitarian work she dedicated her life to. After consideration, the Pope did allow the process to begin early and in 1999, two years after her death, the process began. In 2003, six years after her death, Mother Teresa was beautified and her official name became blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata.http://people.howstuffworks.com/question619.htm

When a person is honored with the consideration of Sainthood, every aspect of their life will be picked apart and investigated. Everything that has been publicly written, every recording and every detail of their life has to be uncovered so that the true character of the person inside can be revealed. The local bishop will be in charge of an investigative look into their life and will search for evidence that will determine if they will need any further consideration.

To be considered:

• There cannot be any moral blemishes in a persons life that will cause someone to question his or her character. This does not mean the person had to be perfect, it mean the person should have a reputation of living a good, holy life with an emphasis on helping mankind.
• All writings should be the reflections of a soul that stay focused on God and doing good work. If there were any books or other writings by the person of consideration, the writing should be completely respectable.
• A candidate should have had the virtues that are in line with the ideals of the Catholic church.

After the thorough and complete investigation and a background check, all of the findings will be gathered and sent directly to the Vatican, for further scrutinizing. At the Vatican, a panel of theologians and cardinals, who are members of The Congregation for Cause of Saints, will look over all of the facts uncovered and determine if the person in question is worthy of the title of Saint.

Part one of the process may take any where from a few years or it may take decades before all of the findings are sent to the Vatican for review by the panel.http://people.howstuffworks.com/question6191.htm

After a lengthy investigation, all of the evidence is gathered and the findings are taken to the Vatican where the Congregation for the Causes of Saints will go over all of the materials gathered. This is where the life of the person considered is looked at very closely and all of the contributions to society and their Holy works are looked at and discussed. A person is considered favorable based on the stories told during interviews, the character witnesses and evidence of the holy life the person lived. After all of this is finished and the finding are considered worthy of further investigation, the congregation will take the probing even deeper.

There must be evidence that is recorded and other historical evidence that he or she was an important part of society who offered their life to serve God above all else. There must also be concrete proof of a miracle that was performed and the facts of this miracle must be recorded and verified by experts. If the candidate died a martyr, special consideration is given to them and there is no need for a miracle. The fact that they died while they were serving God is accepted in place of a miracle.

After the miracle is proven to be true and the life of the candidate is proven worthy, the cardinals and theologians in the Vatican will give their approval. The Pope gives his acceptance of the evidence presented to him and the process continues. Beautification is recognized and is now official. The candidate is now considered Blessed and they are well on their way to becoming a Saint.

This is the part when the person is finally declared a Saint. But, there are further requirements that must be met before a person can be officially declared. Now that the person is considered Blessed, there must be another miracle performed in their name. This is in addition to the first miracle that was performed. This second miracle will need the same verification as the first and after there is enough proof, the Pope will allow the canonization to be complete.http://www.howtodothings.com/religion-spirituality/how-to-become-a-saint

The Blessed candidate is now an official Saint who will be prayed to and asked to protect and look over people. There is now a recognized day of feasting for the Saint that the Catholic church will appoint. Even though the day is official, there is no obligation by the faithful followers to celebrate by having a feast. The Saint can now have parish churches built in their honor and there are no restrictions on those who want to worship the Saint.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonization

Now that the canonization is complete, this newly named Saint may now be considered a Patron Saint who will be a guardian and a protector in times of trouble. Patron Saints are named officially by the Catholic church but, this is not the only way they are named. Any church, individual or group can appoint a Saint as their protector.

In the Christian church, Saints are named because they follow the Bible and are living the life of a Christian. There are Hindu Saints as well , they are referred to as Mahatma and Gandhi is the most widely known. All of the Saints in all religions must follow some of the same criteria while they are alive, they must live a life that is a role model and one that is given selflessly to help others in their time of need. Saints are expected live a life that is a shining example of a servant of God.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint