Canonization

CANONIZATION. - Canonization is a definitive act or sentence by which the Supreme Pontiff decrees that a servant of God, already numbered among the blessed, be inscribed in the catalogue of the saints and be venerated in the universal Church with the cult due to all canonized persons.

I. CANONIZATION IN THE PRACTICE OF PRESENT-DAY CANON LAW.

From the definition one immediately perceives the difference between beatification (v.) and canonization. In the former the cult is limited to a city, diocese, region or religious family, and is merely permissive; in the latter, on the other hand, it is extended to the entire Catholic world, and is preceptive. But the true difference lies, as Benedict XIV writes, in "that final and definitive sentence of holiness" which imposes the cult due to the saints in the universal Church: a sentence which the Supreme Pontiff pronounces for canonization, and never for beatification. One of the characteristic marks of the Church is in fact holiness: she is holy, because her Founder is holy, her doctrine is holy, the end she pursues is holy, and holy because she has the power to generate in every age legions of saints, who by their life, their virtues, their apostolate and the miracles wrought through their intercession, come to confirm the very holiness of the Church. The assertor, guardian and judge of this holiness is none other than the Vicar of Christ; and to him alone, who presides over the whole Church and has the right to propose what must be believed and done in matters concerning religion, does it belong to judge who must be held and honoured as a saint. And in this judgment the Pope cannot err. Benedict XIV, an incomparable master in this matter, teaches that he would regard as "if not heretical, certainly temerarious, scandalous to the whole Church, injurious toward the saints, suspected of heresy, an assertor of an erroneous proposition, anyone who dared to affirm that the Pontiff in this or that canonization had erred, and that this or that saint canonized by him ought not to be honoured with the cult of dulia," that is, by reason of his dignity in the supernatural order.

Moreover the definitive sentence by which the Pope proclaims the holiness of the servants of God, besides finding its first and high reason in the special assistance of the Holy Spirit who enlightens him, is solidly supported by a whole complex of investigations, studies and facts which demonstrate with how much discernment and how much prudence the Church proceeds in causes of canonization, which must be numbered among the greatest and most serious that fall within her competence. In fact the normal and ordinary way is not to begin a cause of canonization unless the servant of God has first been already recognized as blessed. And if for a moment one recalls what was said under the entry beatification, one will see what a long and severe inquiry is employed before a servant of God obtains the title and honours of blessed. Despite this complex of researches and verifications, two further miracles are required, occurring after beatification, which pass under the scrutiny of several physicians and surgeons appointed ex officio, and are discussed and weighed first by a medical commission and then by two prelates, consultors and cardinals in three or more Congregations, the last of which is presided over by the Pope.

Once the miracles are approved, and the decree promulgated in which it is established that canonization may safely proceed, another series of acts begins which unfolds in three Consistories; for the Holy See desires that, in a matter of such gravity, to the consultative judgment of the Sacred Congregation of Rites there be added the equally consultative judgment of the Sacred Consistory. It begins with the secret Consistory, where, besides the cardinals of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, all the cardinals resident in Rome assemble, who, after hearing the report of the cardinal Prefect of the same Congregation concerning the life and miracles and the acts performed up to that moment, when asked by the Supreme Pontiff whether it pleases them that the solemn canonization proceed, answer placet or non placet. Afterwards a public Consistory is held, where one of the consistorial advocates sets forth in elegant Latin the life and miracles of the blessed whose canonization is supplicated. When the advocate's oration is finished, the Secretary of Latin Letters, in the name of the Pope, replies that His Holiness exhorts all to invoke the divine light with fasts and prayers, before the sacred College of cardinals and the Episcopate have manifested their purpose. And for this end a semi-public Consistory is convened, to which, besides all the cardinals, are invited the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops and abbots nullius resident in Rome, so that, after taking cognizance of a compendium of the life of the blessed together with the relevant acts, written under the care of the Secretary of Rites, they may give their suffrage. This last Consistory opens and then closes with a brief allocution by the Pope, who announces the day on which, in the basilica of St. Peter with solemn pomp and ceremonies, he will complete the act of canonization. On the appointed day the Pontiff pronounces before the Catholic world the definitive sentence by which he inscribes the name of the blessed in the catalogue of the saints, and orders that his memory be honoured every year by the universal Church.

What has been set forth so far concerns formal canonization. But there is also an equipollent canonization, reserved to those servants of God who, being already in possession of a cult before the decrees of Urban VIII, were beatified by equipollent beatification by virtue of a pontifical decree attesting the fact of immemorial cult and the heroicity of the virtues or martyrdom. For the procedure of these exceptional cases v. BEATIFICATION. But for the passage from equipollent beatification to equipollent canonization, three miracles are necessary, occurring after the servant of God has been beatified. There are also cases, today extremely rare, in which the Pope proceeds to equipollent canonization without the support of miracles; and this happens when it is a question of distinguished personages whose holiness of life or whose glorious martyrdom are demonstrated by the processes with such fullness and certainty of proof as to exclude any doubt.

Carlo Salotti

II. CANONIZATION IN HISTORY.

I. THE ORIGINS OF CANONIZATION, THE CULT OF THE MARTYRS

The early Church regarded martyrdom as the highest expression of faith and charity, and therefore of Christian perfection; for this reason it venerated the martyrs as the closest friends of God and as the most powerful intercessors for us.

This veneration is based on the public fact of martyrdom, and is bound to a twofold element: local and temporal. The cult, that is, was tied to the place of the martyrdom or of the martyr's burial, and to the date of the martyrdom itself. The memory of a martyr, unlike the memory of any ordinary deceased person, was celebrated not only by relatives and kin, but by the Christian community itself, and the anniversary was indicated in the relevant calendars. Moreover, while in piety toward the dead the idea of our intercession before God for their salvation prevailed, the celebration of a martyr was festive, and his intercession was implored on behalf of the living. The first historically documented example of an anniversary feast for a martyr is that of the Church of Smyrna for St. Polycarp, who died in 156 (Martyrinum Policarpi, 18: ed. R. Knopf-G. Krüger, Ausgewählte Märtyrerakten, 2nd ed., Tübingen 1929).

The fact of martyrdom was a matter of public knowledge; the Christian community itself had been an eyewitness to it; ordinarily speaking, therefore, no specific act of recognition by ecclesiastical authority was required. Only in certain particular cases, that is, when even the sects boasted of having martyrs, especially in Africa, did a certain vigilance on the part of ecclesiastical authority seem opportune (v. MARTIRI).

As has been said, the Christian communities kept a kind of list of their own martyrs, noting the name, the date of the martyrdom and the place of burial. St. Cyprian attests this to us, for example, when he reminds his clergy: «Dies eorum quibus excedunt, adnotate, ut commemorationem eorum inter memorias martyrum celebrare possimus» (Epistolae, 12, 2, ed. J.M.J. Hartel: CSEL, III, 303). Hence the origin of martyrologies and calendars. An example of such lists is found in the Depositio martyrum of the Roman Church, inserted in the Chronographer of 354 (v. CRONOGRAFO). But the names of the martyrs also passed more directly into the cult, that is, they were inserted into the local diptychs, read during the holy sacrifice (v. DITTICI). The continuous contact between the various churches gave occasion for a first diffusion of the cult of a martyr outside his place of origin; their names began to migrate into the calendars and martyrologies of other churches, and certain famous martyrs were received even into the diptychs of those churches.

The golden age of the cult of the martyrs was the first centuries after the Constantinian peace: it suffices to mention the splendid decoration of their tombs, the erection of memorials, churches and basilicas, often grandiose, over their tomb or in their honor; the pilgrimages, the liturgical solemnities of their feasts, the panegyrics delivered in their honor. The custom of Eastern origin of the translation and division of their relics later spread also to the West, and the centers of cult of the martyrs multiplied. St. Stephen the protomartyr, from the time his remains were discovered (415), St. John the Baptist, and St. Lawrence, Roman deacon, and many others, had a cult that spread rapidly throughout the whole Church. Popes of Eastern origin introduced many cults of martyrs at Rome; with the migrations of entire populations because of the barbarian invasions there sometimes followed those of the relics and of the cult of a martyr (for example, St. Quirinus from Siscia to Rome, St. Severinus from Noricum to the Neapolitan region); all this through an organic and natural development, without prior interventions on the part of the bishops. Only from time to time was it necessary to moderate somewhat a zeal of the people that was too ardent and less cautious (v. MARTIRI).

In this period one certainly cannot yet speak of canonization in the modern canonical sense. The solemn and liturgical cult of the martyrs was the fruit of a spontaneous and logical evolution that was founded on the one hand on the historical notoriety of the fact of martyrdom, which made the deceased directly like Christ, and on the other hand on the two fundamental elements for the origin of the cult: the date and the place of the martyrdom.

II. THE BEGINNING OF THE CULT OF THE «NON»-MARTYRS

The period of the persecutions was not yet over when another group of the deceased began to attract special veneration on the part of the Christian communities, namely the «confessors» (v.), that is, Christians brought before the civil authority for their faith, but who, for various circumstances, either had not undergone martyrdom or had survived it. The testimonies concerning the particular veneration toward these confessors (in the primitive sense of the word) are very numerous; and at his death a confessor of the faith could easily become the object of a veneration similar to that paid to a true martyr. Among the best-known examples it suffices to recall: Dionysius of Milan (359); Eusebius of Vercelli (370); Athanasius (373); Meletius of Antioch (381); John

Chrysostom (407). However, one easily observes that some of these figures distinguished themselves not only by what they suffered for the faith, but also by their strenuous defense of it in the political and doctrinal field and by their life and activity, so that, as soon as they died, a fame not unlike that enjoyed by the martyrs immediately arose around them. There are then other figures who, without having been confessors of the faith in the primitive sense, excelled so greatly in doctrine, exemplary life, and manifold activity, political-ecclesiastical or social, that they too, after death, were soon surrounded by honors analogous to those rendered to the martyrs; it suffices to name Gregory Thaumaturgus (270), Ephrem the Syrian (373), Basil the Great (379), Ambrose of Milan, Martin of Tours (397), Jerome (420) and Augustine (430), to say nothing of many others.

But there is more. In the same era, and on a very wide scale, the practice of asceticism and monasticism had been developing. The East soon echoed with the fame of the hermits and cenobites, and soon the West too came to know some great figures (Athanasius, for example, the great exile). Antony the Abbot (356) was known throughout the Christian world, through the celebrated biography written by St. Athanasius, where everyone could read that Antony was to be equated with the ancient martyrs, not for the shedding of blood, but for a martyrdom no less authentic and real, namely that of the arduous and continuous conquest of perfection (Vita, ch. 47: PG 26, 912). Similar veneration was enjoyed by other great ascetics and monks, such as, for example, Baro (372); Paul of Thebes (381); Simeon the Stylite (450). The anniversary of their death too was celebrated liturgically, sanctuaries of extraordinary fame often arose at their tombs, destinations of renowned pilgrimages; their relics were venerated and sought after, churches in their honor multiplied. The first «non»-martyrs who entered the liturgical cult of the Church of Rome were, it seems, Pope Sylvester and Martin of Tours. During the 6th-9th centuries not a few other «non»-martyr saints were received into the Roman calendars, in Rome they had their oratories, monasteries and churches, and passed from here beyond the Alps, and vice versa. This movement of cult was largely favored by the Popes of non-Roman origin, by the many monks who emigrated to the West, or by the exchange of relics, and by the diffusion of legends and passions, etc.

Another element that must not be underestimated and that operated very deeply and widely is the literary work of the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers, who systematically developed and spread the theory of "bloodless martyrdom," represented precisely by the penitential, ascetic and monastic life, or in any case by the life of Christian perfection. This theory became the common doctrine throughout the Middle Ages and still exerts influence today. A few references will suffice, referring for the rest to the bibliography noted below. Paulinus of Nola implores for St. Felix, priest of Nola, the glory of martyrdom: "Martyrium sine caede placet, si prompta ferendi-mensque fidesque Deo calent; passura voluntas-sufficit, et summa est meriti testatio voti" (S. Paulini carmina [ed. J.M.] Hartel: CSEL, XXIX, carm. 14, v. 10-12, p. 46). St. Jerome does not hesitate to write to Eustochium: "Mater tua longo martyrio coronata est. Non solum effusio sanguinis in confessione reputatur, sed devotae quoque mentis servitus cotidianum martyrium est" (Epistolae [ed. I. Hilberg], CSEL: LV, ep. 108, n. 31, p. 349). Of Martin of Tours Sulpicius Severus says: "Implevit tamen sine cruore martyrium"; on his feast day the psalmody and other liturgical elements proper to martyrs are still found.

III. EPISCOPAL CANONIZATION

Between the 6th and 10th centuries, while the East was becoming ever more detached from the West, the dissolution of the Roman Empire and the migration of the barbarian peoples, with the consequent need to convert them to the Catholic faith, placed the Church before new and arduous tasks. It is the age of the great bishops, of missionary monks, of converted kings who sometimes even ended their days in the cloister, of queens and princesses who founded monasteries and churches and then themselves became abbesses or nuns, of hermits and pilgrims; a world in ferment and in movement, with profound contrasts between violence and holiness, amid young peoples of strong imagination, enthusiastic about the new faith, admirers of the heroes of charity and of evangelical chastity. In this period, beyond a revival of the cult of the holy martyrs, new cults of saints arose here and there: often it took no more than the reputation of a penitential life, the founding of a monastery with its beneficial consequences, a great beneficence toward the poor, sometimes a violent death, even if not always for a strictly religious motive, and above all the fame of miracles, to give rise to a new cult: popular report of a holy life, and credit for miracles are the two starting points for these cults of the early Middle Ages. The great churches ordinarily regarded their founders and first bishops as so many saints; the same holds for the figures of great abbots. In all cases their memories were collected, their legends written, without too many concerns for criticism; the calendars and martyrologies of those centuries were enriched with ever new names, altars multiplied in the churches, and the number of feasts increased rapidly. From time to time it was also necessary to repress easy abuses. Charlemagne, for example, had to take measures against abusive cults (MGH, Capitularia, II, 56: « Ut falsa nomina martyrum et incertae sanctorum memoriae non venerentur »; the Council of Frankfurt [794]: « Ut nulli novi sancti colantur aut invocentur nec memoriae eorum per vias erigantur, sed ii soli in ecclesia venerandi sint, qui ex auctoritate passionum aut vitae merito electi sunt »; MGH, Capitularia, II, 170; the Council of Mainz [813]: « Deinceps corpora sanctorum de loco ad locum nullus praesumat transferre sine consilio principis vel episcoporum et sanctae synodis licentia »; Mansi, XIV, 75).

From the various and manifold accounts on this matter, it emerges that in these centuries a certain more or less uniform practice was taking shape, through which a new cult was authorized. The starting point always remains the public report, the vox populi, which immediately after the death of the servant of God ran to the tomb, invoked his intercession and proclaimed its thaumaturgic effect. Then the competent bishop was approached; in his presence, indeed often on the occasion of a diocesan or provincial synod, a life of the deceased was read and above all the account of the miracles (the very first nucleus of future processes), and following the approval thus given, the body was exhumed in order to give it a more honorable burial: the elevatio. But often another step followed at once or later: the translatio, that is, the new deposition of the holy body before or beside an altar or even beneath or above the altar, which took its name from the saint venerated there; indeed, sometimes the church itself was enlarged or rebuilt and dedicated precisely to the saint elevated or translated. From the elevation or translation onward the liturgical feast was celebrated regularly, often with great solemnity, not only in the place where the altar or church stood, but throughout the diocese, the region, the province, or the entire religious family.

The principal elements, then, of this procedure, which had been taking shape in the Merovingian era and had acquired a certain consistency in the Carolingian era, are: public report of holiness and of miracles (or of martyrdom), presentation to the diocesan bishop or to the synod (diocesan, provincial) of a life specially composed, with particular emphasis on the miracles attributed to the « saint », approval, that is, official consent to the cult, which opens with the elevation or the translation. That is to say, a fixed point of the cult is created: the altar proper to the new saint, or his church, where the liturgical feast is regularly celebrated. The cult may remain limited or may expand more or less rapidly and widely; this is a secondary element, the essential thing is the official intervention of the competent ecclesiastical authority, that is, in that age, of the ordinary bishop, by virtue of his own authority, rendered more evident, often, also by the concurrence of neighboring bishops, or of a synod. We are thus faced with an ordinary and normal ecclesiastical discipline, universally recognized, therefore legitimate and valid in all respects: that is, episcopal canonization, or local, or particular, as some prefer to call it, sole and exclusive from the 6th to the 12th century and sometimes continued until the 14th century. A very late example, to cite one, we still have in 1215, in the canonization of St. Peter of Trevi, celebrated prout poterat by the bishop of Anagni, Peter, in the presence of the neighboring prelates. To St. Peter Damian (d. 1072) this practice was well known and he speaks of it as an ordinary thing (cf. Opusculum VI, cap. 19: PL 145, 142).

To conclude: for more than 5 or 6 centuries (6th-12th centuries) episcopal canonization was the normal and only canonization in use in the Latin Church. Alongside it, as will be seen at once, papal canonization grew very slowly, and it took much time and much doctrinal and canonical work before it succeeded in supplanting the ordinary medieval canonization performed by bishops. It should be noted above all that episcopal canonization gave rise to a true and proper cult of the saint, that is, to the celebration of the liturgical feast, to the erection or dedication of altars and churches, to the use of the name in Baptism, and so on, without any limit. The more or less vast geographical extension of these cults is a secondary and purely accessory element. One must avoid applying modern juridical concepts to those times; besides, even formal papal canonization, although it obliges the whole Church to venerate a saint, does not in any way imply the imposition of his feast on the whole Church.

IV. PAPAL OR UNIVERSAL CANONIZATION

The transition from the practice of episcopal canonization to papal canonization is almost imperceptible at the beginning. The latter, at first, appears rather occasional, and certainly was not understood as a supreme act valid for the universal Church. But it is clear that a canonization performed by the pope carried greater authority; and therefore at a later stage requests for papal authorizations of cult grew ever more numerous. But the procedure is the same as in episcopal canonization, and in the majority of cases the pope limits himself to giving his consent, while outside, in the locality, the usual solemn elevation and inauguration of the cult then proceeds. The journeys of the pontiffs in the 11th and 12th centuries gave the popes the opportunity to carry out such elevations in person. Imperceptibly papal canonization took on greater consistency and canonical value; a more rigid procedure took shape, and finally it became the exclusive and solely legitimate canonization.

One can therefore distinguish a threefold period in the development of papal canonization: a) up to when the decretal Audivinus (1170) of Alexander III was inserted into the Decretals of Gregory IX (1234); b) up to Sixtus V, who entrusted to the Sacred Congregation of Rites the task of preparing papal canonization; c) the period of papal canonization according to the practice of that Congregation.

a) First period: up to the time of Gregory IX. — Note that the dates in parentheses following the names of individual saints are those of their death.

The first Pope to have intervened in an authorization of cult outside Rome would have been Innocent I (401-17), to whom the acts of the martyrdom of St. Vigilius of Trent (June 26, 405) would have been transmitted, "ut sacris martyrum memorialibus inserantur"; but the authenticity of the acts, or at least of this notice, is disputed. Certain, on the other hand, is that the definitive translation of the body of St. Severinus (d. in 482 in Noricum and transported by his disciples to Monte Feltre, from there to the Castellum Lucullanum [Pizzofalcone] near Naples), was carried out "tunc sancti Gelasii sedis romanae pontificis auctoritate" (Eugippius, Vita Severini [ed. P. Knöll: CSEL, IX] 65). More or less unreliable are the following notices: Boniface IV (608-15), according to a forgery, would have approved "sua auctoritate" the life of St. Maurus abbot (Jan. 15, 584); Leo III, at the request of Charlemagne, on the occasion of his visit to Verdun would have elevated the body of St. Suitbert (March 1, 713). To Pope Zachary (741-52) is attributed the permission for the elevation of the martyrs Kilian, Colman and Totnan (June 8, 689) at Würzburg; Adrian I (772-95) would have approved the cult of St. Alban, protomartyr of Britain (under Diocletian), having been asked to do so by King Offa. John VIII (872-82) would have personally elevated the bodies of Sts. Agricola, Silvester, and Desiderius, bishops of Chalon-sur-Saône of the 4th century. More certain is the notice that Bishop Hugh of Würzburg proceeded, on Oct. 14, 983, to the elevation of the body of St. Burchard (Feb. 2, 754) "permisso Benedicti papae" (Benedict VII [974-83]). John XV (985-96) finally would have authorized the elevation of the body of St. Ladoald (687 or 688), celebrated at Ghent on March 19, 982 (the chronology, however, is erroneous!).

Leaving aside other similar notices, difficult to verify, we come to the first certain papal canonization of which the pontifical document still exists, that of St. Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg (July 4, 973), carried out by John XV on Jan. 31, 993, during the Synod celebrated at the Lateran. Among the prelates present was also the bishop of Augsburg, who asked and obtained permission to read before the assembly the life and miracles of Ulrich, and received general applause. The Pope, under the same date, drew up an act of it, setting forth what had happened and declaring Ulrich worthy of veneration. The whole matter fits perfectly into the general framework of the procedure then in use, except that the actor in it was the Pope. In any case, this act is customarily regarded as the first "formal" papal canonization in the present sense of the word.

To Gregory V is attributed the canonization of St. Adalbert, bishop of Prague and martyr (23 April 997), carried out the same year; it is certain that he erected and dedicated to him, who had been his friend, a church on the Tiber island (later S. Bartolomeo).

Benedict VIII permitted, at the request of Count Boniface, the construction of a church in honor of St. Simeon, monk at Polirone near Mantua (26 October 1016). The Pope replied: "Tractate eum ut sanctum". This would be the most rapid canonization, occurring one or two months after the death of the servant of God.

John XIX permitted, around 1024, the elevation of St. Adelard, abbot of Corbie (2 January 826) and two years later that of St. Bononius, abbot of Lucedio (30 August 1026).

Benedict IX granted, around 1032, the elevation of St. Romuald (16 June 1027). Much more important is his other intervention which, in every respect, historically constitutes the true first and perfect act of papal canonization, namely the canonization of St. Simeon, recluse at Trier (1 June 1035). In the letter to the German people the Pope sets out how news about the life and miracles of the Saint had reached him several times, and how Poppo, bishop of Trier, had asked him directly "ut quod nobis visum fuisset de celebratione eiusdem sanctissimi viri, salubri definitione nostrae apostolicae auctoritatis statueremus atque decerneremus". In a solemn assembly "fraternitatis romani nostri cleri", on the occasion of Christmas (1041) the Pope, with common consent, decided: "eundem virum Simeonem... ab omnibus populis, tribubus et linguis sanctum procul dubio esse nominandum", establishing that his feast should be celebrated annually and that his name should be inserted in the martyrology. It is evident how much this act differs from the simple papal permissions of previous elevations, above all because of the express intention of a definition of universal scope and binding on the whole Church. However, the times were not yet ripe for such decisions, and the canonization of St. Simeon, in effect, did not go beyond the limits of the usual episcopal canonizations.

Also noteworthy is the case of St. Wiborada, recluse at St. Gall (2 May 926). The abbot Hitto had her solemn vigils celebrated and celebrated Mass over her tomb on the day of her deposition; subsequently, as Ekkehard relates, "in sanctam eam levari iam bis nostris temporibus per duos papas decretatum est, et sub Norberto tandem impletum". The abbot Norbert in fact, supported by the emperor Henry III, obtained in 1047 (5 January) from Clement II "ut canonizaret et pro sancta haberi praecipere et anniversarium diem ipsius solemnizandum institueret". As can be seen, two previous papal concessions had no follow-up, and only a third succeeded; from this one may deduce the real value of papal concessions of elevation.

Important, on the other hand, for the history of papal canonization is the pontificate of St. Leo IX, to whom frequent journeys gave the occasion to celebrate personally various solemn elevations. At the beginning of 1049, on the occasion of the customary Lateran Synod, after the reading of the life, he permitted more solito the elevation of St. Deodatus, bishop of Nevers (19 June 679). In the summer of the same year, at the Synod held in Mainz, he likewise permitted the cult of St. Gervase, bishop of Liège. On the following 3 December the archbishop Hugh of Besançon, by special commission of the Pope, solemnly proceeded to the elevation of the bodies of the abbots St. Romaric of Luxeuil (ca. 635) and Amatus of Remiremont (ca. 625), as well as of Adelphus, bishop of Metz, dedicating to them the rebuilt church of Remiremont. Very interesting is the case of St. Gerard, bishop of Toul, the Pope's predecessor in this see (23 April 994). The Pope himself took the initiative; at the Lateran Synod, 2 May 1050, he presented the case to the assembly, spoke of the life and miracles of the Saint, and, with general applause, decreed: "ut ex hoc sanctus habeatur... ubique terrarum, sicuti ceteri sancti", announcing that he in person would carry out the elevation; which he actually did on 21 October of the same year at Toul. Here we find ourselves once again faced with a formal papal canonization in the sense of full pontifical authority; in fact the Pope addressed a letter "cunctis Ecclesiae catholicae filii", signed by all the members of the Roman synod. Thus a distinction begins to take shape between the pontifical definition and the act of elevation, which until then, especially in episcopal canonizations, had been considered the fundamental act. At Toul the Pope also carried out the elevation of a Romanus, bishop of Toul, whose name, however, is not found in the authentic lists of this see. During his great journey through Germany, the Pope, in the presence of the emperor Henry III, personally celebrated at Regensburg (8 October 1052) the elevation of the bishops St. Erhard (8th century) and St. Wolfgang (31 October 994). Benedict XIV, in his noted great work on canonization, also accepted as reliable the report of the elevation, carried out by Leo IX at Padua, in 1053, of Sts. Bellinus, Fidentius and Maximus, or, as others maintain, Julian, Maximus, Felicitas and three innocents; but the matter is very poorly attested, like certain other reports of this kind, easily explicable by the notable activity of St. Leo IX in the field of canonization.

Alexander II, in 1067 while passing through Milan, is said to have celebrated the elevation of St. Harald, martyr (27 June 1066), but the report is not entirely certain. In 1070 he permitted the elevation of St. Theobald, hermit at Salanigo (30 June 1066), and gave the bishop of Burgos the faculty to proceed to the solemn elevation of the abbot Iñigo of Oña (1 June 1057).

Gregory VII permitted (1073) the solemn elevation of the remains of St. Paschasius Radbertus, abbot of Corbie (26 April 860) by the bishop Wino; in 1083, at the request of King Ladislaus, he granted the solemn elevation of Sts. Gerard Sagredo, bishop of Csanád, apostle of the Magyars (24 September 1046), Stephen, first king of Hungary (15 August 1038) and his son Emeric (2 September 1031).

Urban II permitted the elevation of St. Godeleva, martyr at Gistel (6 June 1070); passing through Milan in 1095 he is said to have personally carried out the elevation of St. Erlembald, martyr (10 April 1076). At the Roman Synod of 1098 the life of the pilgrim St. Nicholas of Trani (2 June 1094) was read and the archbishop Bisantius of that city asked for the insertion of his name in the catalogue of saints: the Pope charged Bisantius himself to proceed with what had been decided, once he had returned to Trani. The Roman Martyrology also gives St. Attilanus, bishop of Zamora (5 October 1009), as canonized by the same Urban II.

Paschal II in 1100 canonized St. Angilbert, abbot of St-Riquier (18 March 814), authorizing his elevation. He likewise authorized the elevation of the body of St. Canute, king of Denmark (10 July 1086), which took place on 19 April 1101. On 4 June 1109, at Segni, after the usual reading of the life, he permitted the bishops of the region to venerate as a saint Peter, bishop of Anagni (4 August 1105).

Callixtus II, elected at Cluny on 2 February 1119, on the day of the Epiphany of 1120 proceeded to the elevation of St. Hugh, abbot of Cluny (28 April 1109), whom he had known. In the same year he charged the cardinal of Palestrina, his legate to the Synod of Beauvais, to proceed to the elevation of St. Arnulf, bishop of Soissons (14 August 1087). As for a supposed canonization of St. Conrad, bishop of Constance (26 November 976), the Pope is said to have declined it by referring to a general council. Note the case of St. Gerard, bishop of Potenza (30 October 1119). His successor Manfred, who reports the fact, went to Rome with a delegation of the people to request his canonization. When the case was brought before the consistory, Callixtus read the life of the deceased and pronounced the canonization orally, without any further document; but to attest its authenticity he ordered the bishops present, Peter of Acerenza, Guy of Gravina, Leo of Marsico, together with the cardinal of Palestrina, William, to go to Potenza to proclaim the canonization that had taken place and the granting of an indulgence of 49 days. All this must have occurred between the first months of 1123 or 1124. The granting of an indulgence on the occasion of canonizations became customary only about a century later.

Innocent II, present at the plenary Council of Reims, on 29 October 1131, after the customary reading of the life and the miracles, permitted the Church of Hildesheim the veneration of its own bishop St. Godehard (4 May 1038). On 22 April 1134, after the preparations of the Council of Pistoia, the Pope, having first had the life and the miracles read, authorized the veneration of St. Hugh, abbot of Chaise-Dieu, bishop of Grenoble (1 April 1132). Identical procedure at the Lateran Council of 1139, 19 April, for St. Sturm, abbot of Fulda (17 December 779).

Eugene III, in a solemn assembly of the clergy in Trastevere, on 4 March 1146, proceeded to the canonization of St. Henry the Emperor (13 July 1024). In his letter the Pope recalls that he had charged two cardinal legates in Germany to gather information at Bamberg, where he was buried in the cathedral of that bishopric founded by him.

To Alexander III is commonly ascribed the reservation of the exclusive right of canonization to the Supreme Pontiff alone. The matter, however, is quite different. On 6 July 1170 Alexander addressed to Canute I, king of Sweden, to the bishops, the clergy and the Swedish people the long letter: Aeterna et incommutabilis (Jaffé-Wattenbach, II, 13546: PL. 200, coll. 1259-61); toward the end of that letter the Pope comes to speak of a particular case: « denique quiddam audivimus... », that is, of a certain man who, killed in a state of drunkenness, had been venerated by some as a holy martyr. On this point the Pope teaches that: « etiamsi signa et miracula per eum plurima fierent, non liceret vobis pro sancto absque auctoritate Romanae Ecclesiae eum publice venerari ». It was therefore a particular case for which the Pope gave his own directive, as the supreme pontiffs are wont to give in many other cases. But barely a decade later, certainly after 1179, an English canonist, a diligent collector of pontifical decisions, inserted into his collection, known as the « Cottoniana prima », also the « Audivimus » of the letter Aeterna et incommutabilis with some adjustment of the text. Through certain other collections of this type, but always of a private character, the text ended up around 1206 in the private collection of master Alan, an Englishman, professor of law at Bologna. Finally St. Raymond of Peñafort, charged by Gregory IX with the official edition of the Decretals, inserted into it also the « Audivimus » of Alexander III, so that this text, by virtue of that insertion (5 September 1234), became universal law. The last and definitive fortune of the « Audivimus » came in the subsequent interpretations of the great canonists, above all of Sinibaldo Fieschi (Innocent IV) and of Henry Bartholomew of Susa, called the « Cardinal of Ostia », who in his Summa Aurea (1253) and in his Commentaria (after 1268) interpreted the « Audivimus » in the sense of a fundamental law of the pontifical right of canonization. This very important point in the history of canonization has only recently been properly brought to light thanks to S. Kuttner, La réserve papale du droit de canonisation, in Revue historique du droit français et étranger (new series, 17 [1938], pp. 172-228; offprint, Paris 1938).

The canonizations of Alexander III do not, moreover, differ at all from the preceding ones; only half a century later did papal canonizations acquire such a splendor and universal resonance that canonical elaborations could graft onto the text of the « Audivimus », in itself very bare, the idea of a universal law reserving the right of canonization to the Supreme Pontiff alone.

The first canonization of Alexander III was that of St. Edward the Confessor, king of England (4 January 1066), carried out at Anagni (7 February 1161) where, in the presence of his court, after the examination of the « liber miraculorum », having seen the letters of his predecessor Innocent on the matter, he proceeded to the proclamation requested; the letter was addressed to all of England on 7 Nov. 1161.

Two similar canonizations follow: at Tours on 9 June 1163 the Pope commissioned Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, the future martyr, to proceed, after the reading of the life and miracles done in a specially convened council, to the canonization of St. Anselm of Canterbury (21 Apr. 1109). From Sena, where he was residing, in 1164 the Pope gave a similar mandate for the elevation of St. Helen of Skövde, Swedish martyr (ca. 1160). Incidentally, note should be taken of the canonization in Dec. 1165 of Charlemagne (28 Jan. 814) carried out by Paschal III, the antipope whom the emperor Frederick Barbarossa had set up in opposition to Alexander III. Paschal commissioned Rainald of Dassel, archbishop of Cologne, the well-known imperial chancellor, to proceed with the solemn elevation of Charles. It is the only case of a canonization carried out by an antipope, and it does not go beyond the sphere of "local" canonizations. In 1169, at Benevento (8 Nov.), there follows the canonization of St. Canute, Knud Lavard, Danish martyr (7 Jan. 1131). Of the greatest importance, on the other hand, is the canonization of St. Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury (29 Dec. 1170). The fact of his martyrdom produced an enormous impression throughout Europe; the Pope, in 1173, issued from Segni two letters of identical tenor, one of them addressed to all the prelates of the Church. He says that he had known Thomas personally, and that he wished to await the report of two of his cardinal legates, especially concerning the miracles. Finally "in capite ieiunii" (21 Feb. 1173), in the presence of a great many ecclesiastics and laymen, "praefatum archiepiscopum solemniter canonizavimus." This is the first time that this precise term appears in a pontifical document. Equally important is the canonization of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (20 Aug. 1153). The Pope, after repeated requests from the Cistercians, on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter (18 Jan. 1174), at Anagni, in the presence of a large throng of prelates, after having the life of Bernard read, decreed: "Beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli meritis confisi, sanctorum cathalogo duximus adscribendum." This is the first time that we learn of a formula referring to apostolic authority being used in this act.

Lucius II in 1181, in the usual form, granted the elevation of St. Bruno, bishop of Segni (18 July 1123).

Clement III canonized, on 21 March 1189, also Stephen of Thiers, hermit, founder of the Congregation of Grammont (8 Nov. 1124). Very interesting is the canonization of Otto, bishop of Bamberg, apostle of the Pomeranians (30 July 1139). In two apostolic letters, of 20 Apr. and 1 May 1189, addressed to particular German prelates, the Pope declared that he had commissioned the two bishops of Merseburg and Eichstädt, two abbots and a canon, so that after a diligent inquiry into his life and miracles, they should declare him canonized with apostolic authority, "issum canonizatum, auctoritate ferti apostolica, solemniter et publice nuntietis." It is an authentic canonization by papal delegation. Similar is the canonization of St. Malachy O'Morgair, archbishop of Armagh (d. at Clairvaux on 2 Nov. 1148), carried out on the basis of the life written by St. Bernard and of many other pieces of information, on 6 May 1190.

Celestine III, on 4 March 1192, at the repeated requests of the bishop of Gubbio, after many reports on the matter, "de communi fratrum consilio," and "Beatorum Petri et Pauli Apostolorum auctoritate," canonized St. Ubald, bishop of Gubbio (14 May 1136), ordering that his feast be celebrated "apud vos." Of similar tenor is the apostolic letter for the canonization of St. Bernard (more correctly Bernward), bishop of Hildesheim (26 Oct. 1023), carried out in Rome at St. Peter's on 8 Jan. 1192. Identical is the canonization of St. John Gualbert (13 July 1073) dated 24 Oct. 1193. Of 27 Apr. 1197 is the canonization of St. Gerald, abbot of Sauve-Majeure near Bordeaux (2 Apr. 1105). To the same Celestine is also ascribed the canonization of St. Bernard degli Uberti, cardinal bishop of Parma, Vallombrosan (4 Dec. 1133), but Clement XI in 1714 refused to extend his feast to the whole Church because it was not possible to prove historically that the formal canonization had taken place. More certain appears the canonization of St. Rudesind, bishop of Dumnium in Galicia (1 March 977), probably carried out in 1196.

Innocent III, on 12 Jan. 1199, canonized St. Homobonus of Cremona (13 Nov. 1197), and in his letter the Pope for the first time, in an official document, gave a brief summary of the Saint's life and miracles, attesting that it had been composed on the basis of sworn testimonies. On 3 Apr. 1200 he canonized St. Cunigunde, empress, wife of St. Henry (5 March 1040).

Of 1202 is the canonization of St. Gilbert, abbot of Sempringham (4 Feb. 1189). Very interesting is the case of St. William, hermit of Malavalle, near Grosseto (10 Feb. 1157). Alexander II had already ordered, at the request of the bishop of Grosseto, that the solemn office for the said Saint be celebrated in his diocese "ad interim," without proceeding to the act of express canonization. Innocent (1202, 8 May), after repeated requests, renews the permission to continue celebrating the feast. Benedict XIV denies in this fact the character of canonization: nevertheless we believe that it is still a case of a local canonization. On 14 May 1203, at Ferentino, he canonized St. Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester (10 Jan. 1095). The Pope had commissioned a committee of two bishops and two abbots to go to Worcester, to proclaim a three-day fast and then to proceed to the examination of the miracles. Account was taken of a life written a hundred years earlier in old English, authenticated and sealed. The whole was brought to Rome for examination. On this basis the Pope celebrated the canonization and also published the prayer of the new Saint. On 2 July 1204 the elevation of the body of St. Procopius, abbot of Sázava, was carried out by Cardinal Guido of S. Maria in Trastevere, on the basis of the Pope's order "ut corpus beati viri solemnizatum canonizetur."

Honorius III, on 17 May 1218, at St. Peter's in the Vatican, canonized St. William, archbishop of Bourges, later monk and Cistercian abbot (10 Jan. 1209). On 18 Feb. 1220 from Viterbo he announced to all the Christian people the canonization of St. Hugh, Carthusian, bishop of Lincoln (17 Nov. 1200), after the by now customary "commisio inquisitionis."

Under the date 8 Jan. 1222 there was the granting to the Cistercian monks of Molesme of permission to venerate "tamquam sanctum" their abbot St. Robert (14 Apr. 1111). On 21 Jan. 1224 at the Lateran he proceeded to the canonization of St. William, Cistercian abbot of Roskilde in Denmark (6 Apr. 1203). A case of special interest is the canonization of St. Laurence O'Toole, archbishop of Dublin (14 Nov. 1181), celebrated at Rieti on 11 Dec. 1225. At his tomb, at Rouen, many miracles had occurred: therefore the Pope ordered the archbishop of that city to conduct the usual inquiry together with other ecclesiastics, who collected the due testimonies. But as regards the life of the Saint, the commissioners transmitted their commission to the archbishop of Du-

by now traditional. The same must be said of the canonization of St. Anthony of Padua (13 June 1231) carried out at Spoleto on 1 June 1232 and published with three letters in which the Pope alludes to the "commisio inquisitionis." On 18 June 1232 at the Lateran an ancient saint was canonized, one with a cult of many centuries: St. Virgil, bishop of Salzburg (27 Sept. 780), with the granting of an indulgence for the feast and the octave. This is an interesting case, because it confirms the value that the institution of papal canonization had come to acquire. There follows the canonization of St. Dominic of Guzmán (6 Aug. 1221), carried out at Rieti on 3 July 1234 with the feast extended to the universal Church and with an indulgence of one year. Another canonization of a figure famous throughout the world blino who, detained at the English court, delegated other dignitaries of his, who conducted the indicated inquiry at Dublin and, having sealed it, transmitted it to Rouen, from where all the material passed to Rome for verification and decision. In this fact we have the first case of what is today called a "process by commission." The canonization of St. William Fitzherbert, archbishop of York (8 June 1154), dates to 18 March 1226 in the Lateran Council, after the usual petitions and inquiries. To Honorius III is also attributed the canonization of Hugh, Cistercian abbot of Bonnevaux (1 April 1191) and of John the hermit, prior of St. Mary of Gualdo. The inquiries, by then necessary, were made for the former on 2 Dec. 1221 and for the latter on the preceding 3 June, but no document remains to us attesting that the canonization took place. Another similar case is that of John Cacciafronte, Benedictine abbot of Vicenza, killed on 16 March 1183. Honorius issued the "commissio inquisitionis," and a process was even held at Cremona, where he had been born, but matters went no further.

Gregory IX. The canonization of St. Francis of Assisi (4 Oct. 1226) aroused universal echo; the Pope proclaimed it at Perugia and announced it with two letters, one to the clergy, the other to the whole people (16 July 1228 and 21 Feb. 1229); the related ceremony was performed by the Pope at Assisi in the early days of July 1228. In the square before the church he delivered the sermon, and, once the body had been carried into the church, amid the singing of the Te Deum, he celebrated the Mass of the new Saint. The formula of this canonization has been preserved for us, and it is certainly the oldest known. The feast of the Saint was imposed on the whole Church and was immediately universally accepted. Although the Pope had been his friend, he nonetheless willed that the usual process of inquiry into his life and miracles be instituted (the first canonization process to be completely preserved and published) and that everything proceed according to the usage

Christian of that time, is that of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia (19 Nov. 1231), performed in the church of the Dominicans at Perugia on 27 May 1235. The papal letter is of the following 1 June, and this time too the feast was extended to the universal Church "districte praecipiendo," but without real effect. Under Gregory IX the process was also instituted for Odo of Novara, Carthusian abbot (14 Jan. 1230). The "commissio inquisitionis" is known, dated 10 Dec. 1240, along with the related process; but everything came to a halt, perhaps because of the Pope's death. Finally, one cannot pass over in silence, because it is also very instructive, the case of St. Hildegard, Benedictine abbess (17 Sept. 1233). Her fame during life was already universally known and, after her death, there was talk of a great number of miracles that occurred through her intercession. Gregory IX appointed the commission and, on 16 Dec. 1233, ordered the process, which was sent to Rome sealed. The depositions having been found insufficient, a new examination of witnesses was ordered, of which no record has come down to us. Innocent IV then, in 1243, renewed the commission, but without practical effect. After new urgings John XXII, in 1317, issued new letters of commission, but the matter had become ever more difficult because of the lack of oral testimony and the ever greater requirements demanded in processes. Thus the celebrated Saint was never formally canonized. A similar case is that of St. Bruno, bishop of Würzburg (27 May 1045). Gregory IX issued the usual commission for him, on 1 May 1238, but the process brought to Rome was not judged satisfactory. Innocent IV therefore ordered a new inquiry (Lyons, 5 Nov. 1245), but a formal canonization never took place. Undoubtedly Gregory IX, an eminent canonist, gave papal canonization a new importance.

After the very brief reign of Celestine IV, there followed on the papal throne the great figure of Sinibaldo Fieschi, Innocent IV (1243-54). Already a professor of law at Bologna, as Pope he wrote the Apparatus super V libros decretalium, a commentary that immediately enjoyed the widest diffusion and fame, although he expressly declared that he had written it as a private man. Fieschi's observations and definitions concerning canonization thus became the basis for all subsequent canonists. He definitively established the "Audivimus" of Alexander III as the foundational law of papal canonization, of which he also gave the first precise definition, which became classic among canonists. It consists in "canonice et regulariter statuere quod aliquis sanctus honoretur pro sancto," that is, with all the prerogatives of a public and universal cult. It is precisely in this universality that Innocent IV recognizes the root of the pontifical reservation of canonization: "Solus Papa potest canonizare sanctos," since only the Pope exercises a universal jurisdiction over the whole Church. But to arrive at canonization, juridical proofs are required "de fide et excellentia vitae et miraculis." He himself canonized, on 16 Dec. 1246 at Lyons, the archbishop of Canterbury, St. Edmund Rich, a native of Abington (16 Nov. 1240), and at Easter 1247, again at Lyons, St. William Pinchon, bishop of St-Brieuc (29 July of a year uncertain between 1254 and 1241). More magnificent was the canonization of St. Peter Martyr (6 Apr. 1252), whose ceremony was celebrated at Perugia in the square before the church of the Dominicans at Easter 1253. The Pope published two letters of general tenor, one from Perugia on 24 March 1253, the other from Anagni on 8 Aug. 1254. Important is the Pope's statement that he had proceeded to the canonization "post inquisitionem sollerem, studiosam examinationem, discussionem solemnem... auctoritate beatorum Petri et Pauli Apostolorum ac nostra." There followed at Assisi, on 8 Sept. 1253, the canonization of St. Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow, martyr (8 May 1079). The entire solemn celebration took place completely in the great basilica of St. Francis. From now on the canonization would unfold entirely as a liturgical rite. Subsequently, following the commission given by Innocent IV, the processes for John the Good (23 Oct. 1249), hermit, were drawn up between 1251 and 1254, but, for reasons unknown to us, the canonization never took place.

Alexander IV celebrated another famous canonization, that of St. Clare of Assisi, whom he himself had attended at her death (12 Aug. 1253). The solemnity took place at Anagni on the second anniversary of her death, 12 Aug. 1255.

Urban IV canonized at Viterbo on 22 Jan. 1262 St. Richard de Wych, bishop of Chichester (3 Apr. 1253). As the Pope says in the letter on the cause: the inquisitio had been ordered by Innocent IV and "diligenti examine discussa" first by the cardinal bishop of Frascati, Ottone of Chateaureuse, and finally "per nos et per fratres," that is, by the cardinals. One sees how the procedure became ever more severe.

Clement IV proceeded to the canonization of St. Hedwig, grand duchess of Silesia (15 Oct. 1243), performed at Viterbo on 26 March 1267.

This period closes with the great figure of the Cardinal of Ostia, of whom mention has already been made. His Summa aurea and above all his Commentarium constitute the endpoint of a development spanning several centuries. From the middle of the 13th century one can date the second period of the history of the canonization of saints, de facto and de iure by then reserved to the Holy See. With this reservation, however, the rise of new local liturgical cults did not cease, without their ever arriving at canonization.

As has been seen, from the first sporadic interventions of certain popes, more casual than anything else, there came about imperceptibly the attribution to papal canonization of a higher and exclusive value. While at the beginning these were predominantly permissions or pontifical commissions to proceed with the elevation of a saint, this element, until then of capital importance, passed into second place; the simple and formal pontifical declaration of the canonization performed began to prevail. Thus the procedure, at the beginning quite rudimentary, acquired a true juridical consistency by assuming the various elements of canonical procedure, which had developed for the various curial trials.

At the beginning, the reading of a life and of the miracles before the Pope and a synod or some other solemn gathering of the clergy sufficed to bring about, by common consent of those present, the papal permission for the elevation. But in the respective pontifical letters there soon emerges the tendency to give greater prominence to the papal act by conferring on it a universal value. The examination of the miracles, moreover, being in some way connected with a definition of a divine intervention, led to the idea that in canonizations what was at issue was a « negotium maius Ecclesiae », pertaining to the Pope and his Curia. The mere reading of a simple life no longer sufficed; the Holy See took the initiative and on its own part requested fuller information. In 1146, in connection with Eugenius III, for St. Henry, it is known for the first time that the Pope made use of his legates for this purpose. In 1189, with Clement III, the term « commissio » appears for the first time, that is, the express charge given by the Pope to specific persons for the inquisitio into the life and the miracles.

Under Innocent III (for St. Homobonus) we are informed for the first time that the inquiry was based on sworn testimonies. Rapidly there were introduced into the procedure preparatory to canonization all the juridical safeguards then in use for other trials, set forth, for example, masterfully by the well-known William Durand, bishop of Mende, in his Speculum iuris, which appeared in 1272 and 1287. In the process for canonization too there appear the oath called « de calumnia », the « interrogatoria », the « articuli », prepared ex officio at the papal Curia and transmitted, together with the « commissio », to the commissioners. The sealing of the acts after each session goes back to this same age. In the same way, moreover, as the other trials, those for canonization too were entrusted to the clerics of the Curia, generally to the papal chaplains, for revision and rubrication; there followed a preliminary examination by a cardinal and, finally, the proposal in consistory.

The liturgical celebration of canonization also underwent in this period its substantial evolution. At the beginning it was a simple juridical act, a sentence of the Pope, pronounced in synod, without further liturgical celebrations. These, that is, the solemn elevation with Mass etc., took place in the place where the saint's remains reposed. Only in 1131, with Innocent II (canonization of St. Godehard), do we learn that the proclamation of the canonization closed with the singing of the « Te Deum laudamus ». In 1192 (with the canonization of St. Ubald) the first notice is preserved for us that Celestine III, following the canonization, also celebrated Mass in honor of the new Saint. From certain hints contained in the various pontifical letters for canonizations, one can deduce that a certain ritual formula for the proclamation of a saint had developed; the names of the Apostles Peter and Paul were inserted (first mention in 1174, under Alexander III, for St. Bernard); in 1228 (for St. Francis), the complete formula is preserved: « Ad laudem et gloriam omnipotentis Dei, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, et gloriosae Virginis Mariae, et beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et ad honorem Ecclesiae Romanae ». Under Honorius III (1218), the first concessions of indulgences on the occasion of a canonization begin, 40 days (for St. William of Bourges). Gregory IX granted, in 1228, for St. Anthony, for the first time a year of indulgence. For St. Elizabeth (1235), the indulgence rose to a year and 40 days. From 1228 (St. Francis) it became the rule that the Pope should preach a sermon to the people, then read or have read the miracles, and finally pronounce the formula of canonization, closing the celebration with the Mass. Moreover it is known that in that epoch the singing of the «Veni S. Spiritus» was already generally in use, to implore divine help, so that «Deus non permittat ipsum (papam) errare in hoc negotio», as the Ostiense puts it.

b) Second period: up to Sixtus V. - Gregory X orders the inquisition for the process of St. Margaret of Hungary (18 Jan. 1270) to three Hungarian prelates. In 1271 the process was closed, but at Rome it was judged insufficient (the process has been lost); accordingly Innocent V commissioned two Italians expert in the Curia to institute a second process (1276) with the «interrogatoria» sent from Rome. The process is preserved, but it had no further sequel. Only recently (1943) has Margaret been canonized equipollently by Pius XII (v. below, equipollent canonization). Honorius IV, shortly before his death (3 Apr. 1287), in the convent of S. Sabina in Rome, having received news of the death of Ambrose Sansedoni, a Sienese Dominican (20 March 1287), surrounded by a reputation for holiness and extraordinary miracles, immediately ordered four Dominicans to go to Siena to begin the due investigations. The commissioners, on the death of the Pope, continued, though without the form of a process, to gather the material on the matter. But everything stopped there. When later, in 1442-1443, Eugenius IV was urged to proceed to canonization, he promised to do so at Rome. Meanwhile, on 16 Apr. 1443, he granted to the Roman province of the Dominicans the right to solemnize the feast of Ambrose «velut si sanctus esset canonizatus»: but a formal canonization never took place.

Boniface VIII, on 11 July 1297, at Orvieto, canonized St. Louis IX, king of France (25 Aug. 1270). This canonization has a certain political flavor, because it was performed by the Pope following his reconciliation with Philip IV, king of France.

Clement V, on 5 May 1313, canonized, at Avignon, St. Peter de Murrone, Celestine V, pope (19 May 1296).

John XXII, on 7 Apr. 1317, canonized St. Louis, bishop of Toulouse (19 Aug. 1297); on 17 Apr. 1320, St. Thomas Cantelupe, bishop of Hereford (3 Oct. 1282); and, on 18 July 1323, St. Thomas Aquinas (7 March 1274), always at Avignon.

Clement VI, still at Avignon, on 26 June 1347, canonized St. Yves Hélory (19 May 1303) and, on 19 Sept. 1351, St. Robert de Turlande, abbot of Chaise-Dieu (17 Apr. 1067).

Urban V, on 15 Apr. 1369, canonized, at Avignon, St. Elzéar de Sabran, count of Ariano (27 Sept. 1323). The bull of canonization was published by Gregory XI on 15 Jan. 1371. It was the last canonization outside Rome.

Under Gregory XI, the case of Charles of Blois, count of Brittany, fallen in the battle of Auray on 29 Sept. 1364, is worthy of note. The process of canonization was regularly constructed at Angers in 1374 and sent to Avignon. The Pope, according to the report of the Venetian ambassador, already on the point of departing for Rome, decided to hold the solemn canonization at Marseilles on the day preceding his departure, which actually took place on 2 Oct. 1376: but no source attests that the canonization took place.

The canonization of St. Catherine, daughter of St. Bridget, placed by various authors in 1378, under Urban VI, lacks any historical foundation; her feast, permitted by Sixtus IV, was fixed by Leo X, on 21 March 1512, for 25 June, «donec ad eius canonizationem deveniatur». At the same epoch there was alive in France the reputation of the thaumaturge Peter, count of Luxembourg (2 Aug. 1387). The antipope Clement VII (Robert of Geneva), who had created him cardinal bishop of Metz, commissioned three cardinals with a first inquiry and, in the Consistory of 16 June 1389, Peter d'Ailly, at name of Charles VI, pleaded its cause. Once a commission of cardinals had been appointed again, in 1390 the process was constructed on the basis of no fewer than 280 articles, but, given the turbulent times, everything stopped there. In 1433 Eugene IV took up the cause again, and the Council of Basel in 1435 instituted a new commission, but once again without result. Finally Pope Clement VII, on 7 April 1527, after repeated petitions, issued a bull in which he permitted the aforesaid Peter and Louis Aleman to be venerated as «Beati... donec... ad canonizationem deventum fuerit». But the canonization was never carried out.

Boniface IX, on 7 October 1391, canonized St. Bridget (23 July 1373), in the chapel of the Vatican palace, and on the following day, a Sunday, he celebrated her solemn Mass.

Martin V canonized, on 26 March 1425, St. Sebald, hermit (19 August, 7th or 8th century). He also ordered the inquiry for Hedwig, queen of Poland (17 July 1399); in 1426 Albert Jastrzembiec, archbishop of Gniezno, in his capacity as apostolic visitor of the kingdom of Poland, again instituted a subcommission to gather testimony about the queen; in 1450 the royal chancellor John Dlugosz noted resignedly that there was no longer any hope for the cause.

Eugene IV celebrated, on 1 February 1447, the canonization of St. Nicholas of Tolentino (10 September 1306), and, since the new Saint belonged to the Order of Augustinian Hermits, once the function in St. Peter's was over, the Pope went in a grand procession to the church of St. Augustine to celebrate Mass there.

Nicholas V, on 24 May 1450, canonized St. Bernardino degli Albizeschi, of Siena (20 May 1444).

Callixtus III, on 1 January 1456, canonized St. Osmund, bishop of Salisbury (4 December 1009); on 29 June 1456 St. Vincent Ferrer (5 April 1419). The publication of the bull took place, under Pius II, on 1 October 1458. On 15 October 1457 he canonized St. Albert of Trapani, Carmelite (7 August 1307); the publication of the bull was made by Sixtus IV, on 31 May 1476.

Pius II, on 29 June 1461, canonized St. Catherine Benincasa, of Siena (29 April 1380).

Paul II in 1466 ordered the process for St. Emma of Gurk (29 July 1045). In a letter to Emperor Frederick III (1467) he affirmed that he intended to proceed to the canonization, but only in 1938 was there the approval of the cult with the title of «saint». Paul II also intervened in the cause of St. Andrew Corsini (6 January 1373), a case of the greatest interest for the history of canonization. Andrew was immediately venerated in Florence, and to him was attributed, in the war of Florence against Milan of 1440, the salvation of the city. On the anniversary of the liberation his body was solemnly displayed. The Pope visited his tomb and readily consented to all the manifestations of veneration that were by then regular. Paul II finally, at the request of Florence, formed the commission of three cardinals, then necessary to begin the process of canonization. The cause was taken up again under Clement VIII and Paul V, but only under Urban VIII, in 1629, could the formal canonization proceed. It will be seen how Urban VIII put an end once and for all to certain affirmations of cult that certainly appeared not entirely free of inconveniences.

Sixtus IV. Noteworthy is the particular case of the Franciscan protomartyrs of Morocco, Bernard, Peter, Otto, Accursius and Adjutus (16 January 1220). The Pope had granted «vivae vocis oracio» to celebrate their feast in the churches of the Franciscan Order; but once various oppositions arose, the Pope issued a brief on 7 August 1481, in which he expressly declared that the Friars Minor «ubicumque et solemniter ac publice» could celebrate this feast. This concession therefore falls perfectly within the papal concessions of a limited cult, but with all the prerogatives of a cult of canonized saints: a «minor» canonization, if one wishes, but still a canonization. On 14 May 1482 he canonized St. Bonaventure (14 July 1274).

Innocent VIII solemnly canonized, on 6 January 1485, St. Leopold III, duke of Austria, of the family of the Babenbergs (15 November 1136).

To Julius II (1508) is ascribed a case similar to that of Sixtus IV, for the Camaldolese martyrs Benedict, John, Matthew, Isaac and Christian (10 November 1003, near Poznań). However, the report is an invention of the 17th century. On 12 December 1512 he approved the cult paid for centuries to Notker of St. Gall, called the Stammerer, (6 April 912) for the monastery of St. Gall and for the diocese of Constance, with the clause however «quod... propterea canonizatus aut alias approbatus non censeatur», thus positively excluding the effect of a formal canonization, unlike similar previous concessions already mentioned. The formal canonization had already become so firmly established as the supreme act of the Pope that possible misunderstandings arising from concessions of lesser degree had to be prevented.

Leo X, on 1 May 1519, canonized St. Francis of Paola (2 April 1507) and, in 1521, St. Casimir, son of Casimir IV the Great, king of Poland (4 March 1484).

Boniface VIII, cardinal in 1295, d. in 1341, left a report on the canonization of St. Celestine V and of St. Thomas Cantelupe, in prose; a second on St. Celestine, in verse, and a third on St. Louis of Toulouse, inserted in the Ordo Romanus XIV (chaps. III and 115). In the canonical procedure there appears a novelty which, however, was not maintained afterwards, namely a whole series of consistories for the study of the process, and the choice of 7 or 8 prelates of the Curia charged with expounding, on the day of the canonization, the content of the process in the form of a sermon to the people. Interesting is the report that the Pope, in the last consistory, appointed two cardinals, generally religious, with the task of preparing the liturgical texts, one the lessons, the other the antiphons, the Adrian VI, on 31 May 1523, canonized, the first case of this kind, two saints together in a single canonization: St. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence (2 May 1459) and St. Benno, Bishop of Meissen (16 June 1105 or 1107); the bull, however, was promulgated by Clement VII on 26 Nov. 1523.

Paul III in 1537 commissioned the nuncio of Sicily to construct the process of canonization of Guglielmo Cuffitella, hermit at Scicli (4 Apr. 1411). Having examined it, on 26 Feb. 1538, the Pope permitted for the moment the cult already existing, but with the clause: «quod dictus Guglielmus, propter praemissa, canonizatus non censeatur»; the formal canonization never took place. These and similar cases are the first indications of what was later to be beatification (v).

Sixtus V canonized, on 2 July 1588, St. Diego of Alcalá (13 Nov. 1463) and this is the last canonization according to the old style. The Congregation of Rites, instituted just a few months earlier, could in fact not intervene in it in any way.

During the second period of papal canonizations, one immediately notes a decisive and complete affirmation of such canonizations as the only legitimate form for the establishment of a universal cult. Nevertheless, even though in the pontifical bulls the feast of the new saint is generally prescribed in categorical terms, in reality few of those feasts entered into the general usage of the Church; the cults remained circumscribed, de facto, to more or less limited territories. Sometimes, on the other hand, even in the same papal bulls such a limitation is expressly established, without for that reason derogating from the quality of «saints» of the canonized persons concerned. Sometimes, however, the papal intervention occurred with the express exclusion of the complete effect of the canonization; these are the first indications of the future formal beatification distinct from canonization.

The procedure and the rite of canonization in this period are known to us in the first place through certain precise descriptions. G. Gaetani Stefaneschi, nephew of responsories and the Oremus. Then a new figure appears: the procurator of the cause of canonization, ordinarily the ambassador of a Catholic state. He must ask the Pope to deign to listen to the prelates who will plead the cause of the one to be canonized; there follow the sermons of the 7 or 8 prelates to the people; the Pope, after the singing of the Confiteor, gives the absolution and publishes the indulgence. Then, in a second phase, in church, the Pope himself delivers the sermon and asks that prayers be said. Once the Veni Creator has been intoned, after the singing, prayer continues in silence; then the Pope pronounces the formula of canonization, sings the Te Deum, with the Oremus of the new saint. There follows the Confiteor, with the indulgence of 7 years and 7 quarantines, and the solemn Mass.

About a hundred years after Stefaneschi, the Patriarch of Grado, Pietro Amely (Petrus Amelii; d. 1403), in 1395 drew up a report on the canonization of St. Bridget, inserted in the Ordo Romanus XV (ch. 153). From this report other innovations introduced are known: after the proclamation of the canonization, the procurators ask the Pope to draw up the public instrument of the act. While the Te Deum is being sung, torches of different weight are distributed, according to the rank of the person to whom they are destined, and a grand procession is made toward the Vatican palace. In the chapel the function closes with the Oremus and the indulgence. Finally, during the Mass, another innovation, which still today constitutes for the public one of the most curious attractions of the canonization. After the Gospel the three cardinal commissioners of the cause come out of the sacristy of St. Peter's with the oblations: the first carries two large gilded torches, the second two loaves, covered with cloths bearing the coats of arms of the three cardinals and of St. Bridget, the third two gilded little barrels, full of wine and with the same coats of arms. Five procurators and the advocate of the cause follow, and each offers a little green basket with two white doves and two turtle doves. In the case of St. Bridget, the Pope, out of regard for the Saint so greatly venerated, granted the indulgence in the form of a jubilee, that is, a plenary indulgence. Important is Amely's notice that the cause had three cardinal commissioners; from other subsequent sources we know that they were chosen from the three orders: of bishops, priests and deacons. The cardinal commissioners, in their turn, had appointed sub-commissioners (bishops, abbots or other dignitaries) with the faculties necessary for the construction of the apostolic process. During the 15th century, the examination of the processes of canonization, the rubrication etc., passed to the auditors of the Rota, appointed since the times of Innocent III, for the study and handling of certain causes. After Boniface VIII the auditors, who already formed a well-defined college, were charged with examining the processes of canonization. In the canonization of St. Bonaventure there appears for the first time the notice of the singing of the litanies of the saints. For the canonization of St. Francis of Paola the well-known papal master of ceremonies Paris de Grassis revised the whole ceremonial, in its now traditional forms, which remained in use, in its broad outlines, down to today.

c) Third period. - Evolution of the procedure and of the handling of causes on the part of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.

In the general reorganization of the Curia desired by Sixtus V in 1588, with which 15 cardinalitial Congregations were instituted, the Sacred Congregation of Rites occupies the fifth place. To it the Pope entrusted, among other things, also the task: «diligentem quoque curam adhibeant cardinales circa sanctorum canonizationem». With this simple phrase, the entire preparation of the causes of the saints was officially and permanently entrusted to the new Congregation, up to their full maturity, that is, when they could be presented to the Pope in the usual consistories, for the final formal examination. Until this moment the immediate study of the processes sent to Rome had been entrusted to the auditors of the Rota; however, the auditors did not function, in the causes of the saints, as a college, but individually. A permanent organ, which would supervise and accompany each cause through its various phases to the end, was lacking. It happened not infrequently that a process, brought to the Curia and deposited in the house of one of the three usual cardinal commissioners, was lost through the death of one of them. The processes, too, were constructed with very disparate criteria. Now, Sixtus V, by entrusting the entire matter of canonization to the new Congregation of Rites, laid the foundations for the definitive formation of that procedure which rightly enjoys throughout the world its well-merited fame.

It was all too evident that at the beginning the Congregation needed to find the right path, to gather experience, to form a stable practice, to find solutions, norms, general applications in such a variety of matter. This period of orientation and stabilization lasted from 1588 until the whole pontificate of Urban VIII (1623-44). To him belongs the merit of having directed the canonical procedure of canonization toward that austerity and sureness which still prevails. In 1642 he had published in a little volume of 63 pages all the decrees and subsequent clarifications issued during his long government in the matter of canonization; it bears the title: Urbani VIII Pont. O. M. Decreta servanda in canonizatione et beatificatione sanctorum. Accedunt Instructiones et declarationes quas Emi et Rmi S. R. E. Cardinales praesulesque romanae Curiae ad id numeris congregati ex eiusdem Summi Pontificis mandato condiderunt.

It opens with two decrees of the Holy Inquisition (13 March and 1 October 1625), fundamental in the matter of cult. Until that time new cults had continually arisen. The great saints of the Catholic Reformation, such as St. Ignatius, St. Philip Neri, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa, almost immediately aroused a spontaneous popular veneration that soon turned into a true cult, indeed a very widespread one, before the Church had pronounced on their sanctity. Urban VIII forbade at a stroke every new ecclesiastical cult; indeed, from then on the existence of such a recent cult was to constitute an impediment to the canonical procedure. Thus not a few more or less recent cults were then cut off, others died out of themselves. With this there ceased any undisciplined and dangerous impulse toward canonization. For similar reasons the same decrees forbade the publication of books or writings on the life, miracles, martyrdom, revelations, etc., of persons who had died in the reputation of sanctity, without prior ecclesiastical approval and without the author's due declarations that he did not wish in any way to anticipate the judgment of the Church in this matter. For the same reason it was also forbidden to place on the tombs of such persons any sign of religious cult. In a supplement to the aforesaid decrees, it was permitted only to accept and preserve, but in a hidden and secret place, the "ex-voto" offerings, so that they might serve, should the occasion arise, as evidence of the fame of sanctity and of miracles in a future handling of the cause. Considering, however, the fact that a cult already existing could also have its juridical grounds, it was established that cults formed "per communem Ecclesiae consensum, vel immemorabilis temporis scientia, ac tolerantia Sedis Apostolicae, vel Ordinarii" should not be prejudiced.

There follows the celebrated brief Caelestis Hierusalem cives (5 July 1634), in which the prescriptions of the Inquisition of the year 1625 are inculcated, adding then further norms, very incisive, for the canonical procedure of canonization. First of all, private informations on the life, virtues, miracles or martyrdom of a servant of God, gathered by any authority, are forbidden, for the purpose of serving a future canonization. Instead, there had first to be a special canonical process on the obedience rendered to the Urbanian decrees of the non cultu; for cults legitimately formed, as was said above, there is introduced instead as a norm the space of 100 years before the year 1634. Every interpretation of the Urbanian decrees is reserved to the Holy See. There follow the formulas for the various declarations of the authors, mentioned above; there is established, in consequence of the same decrees, a twofold canonical way of canonization, per viam cultus and per viam non cultus; the latter is henceforth the ordinary way, the other the way of exception: casus exceptus [from the decretis urbanianis], a basic distinction that holds even today. Urban VIII then also establishes the progressive order of the fundamental acts. Three times a year (Jan., May, Sept.) there are to be held Congregations "coram Sanctissimo" (today's Congregazione generale), in the presence of the cardinals of the Rites, the protonotary of the Congregation, the Pope's sacristan, the promoter of the Faith, the secretary, and the auditors of the Rota in turn for the causes under discussion. Fifteen days before the papal Congregations there are to be held particular Congregations (today's Congregazioni preparatorie) in the house of the senior cardinal, to prepare the matter for the papal Congregation; the cardinal ponente must report on the merits of the cause. The papal Congregation will deal with the validity of the processes, the virtues and the miracles. In the event that one general Congregation is not enough to exhaust the established subject, it will be continued in the subsequent ordinary Congregations and reported to the Pope. The ordinary Congregations, on the other hand, will be competent, in the causes of saints, in everything that relates to obedience to the Urbanian decrees, to the opening of processes, the deputation, substitution, etc., of judges and similar matters, provided that everything be reported to the Pope. The secrecy of office is then imposed (p. 24) with the various formulas of the relative oath.

Another point that caused many delays and was not always well interpreted was the prescription of Urban VIII according to which (p. 27) one could in no way proceed "ad effectum canonizationis seu beatificationis, aut declarationis martyrii, nisi lapsis 50 annis ab obitu illius"; and even after the 50 years only with an express permission of the Pope. The construction of the ordinary processes was however permitted, both those "in genere" and those "in specie, ne pereant testes", even before the fifty-year period, but the said processes had to be sealed and kept closed. A very severe measure, this, but a most wise one; the fame of sanctity, arisen around a person recently dead, had to undergo, so to speak, the test of its real consistency.

On pp. 28-56 the canonical procedure relating to causes is rapidly described: postulatory letters on the part of princes and prominent personages as a basis, the "signatura Commissionis" and the formula of the relative decree; the judgment on obedience to the Urbanian decrees concerning the non cultu, the granting of the "litterae remissoriales" for the formation of the ordinary process "in genere" and the formula of the remissorials; after a summary judgment, made "coram Sanctissimo", new remissorial letters are granted for the ordinary process "in specie". Should it happen to be instructed in Rome itself, the cardinal vicar must be delegated for this, who, in turn, will depute a dignitary residing in Rome, assisted by the protonotary of the Congregation of Rites, a usage still in force. To the auditors, the Pope recommends above all to investigate well the death of the servant of God and its circumstances, the origin of the fame of sanctity, and concerning any writings left by him, which, in that case, must be collected and examined to see whether they contain anything that could obstruct the cause. From this arose the particular procedure still in force concerning the writings of the servants of God, another very important point that required a systematization. Finally it is established that, after all the examinations of the processes, and after the study of the whole procedure gone through by a cause, before proceeding to canonization, a particular Congregation must be held before the Pope, to deliberate, all things weighed and considered, "an sit procedendum ad canonizationem"; it is the Congregation that today is called "super tuto".

The last pages of the Urbanian booklet contain the texts of circular letters to nuncios, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, minor prelates, etc., with a formal renewed prohibition against assuming, in the causes of saints, private, extrajudicial informations. It is then ordered that the originals of the processes be kept sealed in the respective curias, while authenticated copies, the "transumptum", must be sent to Rome. Finally the Pope declares that, when the Holy See has laid its hand to a cause, it is withdrawn from every interference of the Ordinaries unless they receive a particular authorization from the Congregation. The book closes with a series of minute prescriptions for the auditors, the promoter of the Faith, the advocates, etc. This collection of 1642 constitutes the "magna charta" in the matter of canonization, perfected later in various points; in substance, however, it is still today the foundation of the canonical procedure of canonization.

After the only canonization celebrated by Urban VIII in 1625, following the severe norms he had issued, there was a standstill until Alexander VII (1658); it was necessary to adapt practice to the norms and to bring the whole procedure into new and more organic efficiency. Various further prescriptions served this end, of which we present only the most important. Until Innocent X (Urban VIII's successor), the processes were delivered to the auditors of the Rota, who studied them "at home"; but by then the Congregation of Rites had taken the said examination into its own hands, especially through the office of the promoter of the Faith and the sub-promoter. From the time of Alexander VIII the series of "Congregationes" was completed with a "Congregatio antepraeparatoria"; the first ones recorded in the protocols of the Congregation of Rites are from 1691, both for virtues and for miracles. Henceforth, therefore, there would be: 1st the Congr. antepraep., in the presence of the consultors and prelates of the Congregation of Rites, at the house of the cardinal ponente, for the purpose of procuring for him the necessary knowledge of the cause itself; 2nd the Congr. praepar., in the Vatican (then also at the Quirinal), in the presence of all the cardinals of the Congregation of Rites, the consultors and prelates, for the information of the cardinals; and finally 3rd the Congr. generalis, in the presence of the Pope, to inform him of the merits of the cause. These three Congregations take place both for the discussion of the virtues or martyrdom and of the miracles, and this series closes with a final general Congregation, "super tuto", which opens the way either to beatification or to canonization, according to the degree of advancement of the cause itself. Thereby the consultors of the Congregation were placed ever more in the foreground. They, together with the promoter and sub-promoter of the Faith, in a mutual contest of examinations and discussions concerning the weak points of the causes, set forth precisely by the promoter, a kind of proto-notary or public minister to guarantee on the part of the "Faith", that is, of the Church, the safety of the law and of moral and doctrinal interests, brought the cause, through a continuous and progressive clarification, to the stage of perfect maturity for the definitive sentence of canonization. Following the practice introduced by Urban VIII, and within his century, the full separation between beatification and canonization was created (v. BEATIFICAZIONE).

Alexander VII (2 Oct. 1655) prescribed that in the remissorial letters, issued to the Ordinaries, a precise term of validity be expressed, beyond which an explicit renewal of the mandate would be necessary. Innocent XI (15 Oct. 1675) issued a series of new decrees, after long preparation (Decreta novissima... servanda in causis beatificationis et canonizationis sanctorum), with not a few improvements. Worthy of mention, among other things, is the institution, in the processes, of "testes ex officio", to be chosen by the judges, independently of the postulators, in order better to guarantee the veracity of the matters. Severe measures were introduced to guarantee the absolute secrecy of the interrogations, with closure and seal after each session, and with a renewed oath at each opening. Noteworthy is the introduction of a space of 10 years between the delivery of a process to the Congregation and the segnatura of the Commission, a further tightening of the Urbanian fifty-year period. There follow detailed norms for the specific duties of the sub-promoter, and prescriptions concerning the advocates of the causes. The same Innocent XI, by a decree of 18 Apr. 1682, also gave a new and clearer physiognomy to the segnatura of the Commission. By now the original idea had been completely transformed. Henceforth the said segnatura would have as its reason the passage of a cause from the hands of the Ordinary to the Holy See, and this following a preliminary judgment concerning the fame of holiness in general, concerning the miracles or the fact of martyrdom, in order to establish whether the cause merits being taken into consideration by the Apostolic See. Accordingly this act took the new name of Introductio causae and was juridically fixed by means of a special decree. From this determination there arose the custom of conferring on the persons whose cause had been introduced the honorary title of "venerabilis". However, in 1913 (26 Aug.) Pius X, for reasons of greater security, established that this title would in future be reserved only to the servants of God whose heroicity of virtues or martyrdom had been declared: a determination that then also entered by right into the CIC.

Clement XII (11 May 1733) repressed various and not insignificant abuses and interferences, determined the incompatibility between the offices of consultors, advocates, postulators, etc., and excluded religious consultors from voting in a cause of a religious of their own Congregation.

Benedict XIV (23 Apr. 1741), following especially the cause of Giovanna Francesca di Chantal, a cause based not so much on eyewitnesses as on second-hand informational witnesses and on historical documents, established that in such causes not two, as was by then the rule, but three or even four miracles be required before proceeding to beatification, an ordinance that also passed into the CIC.

In this same span of time, between Urban VIII and Benedict XIV, a fundamental element for the judgment on the holiness of a person had also come to be determined with greater precision, namely the concept of "heroic virtue". Certainly, even in the Middle Ages there was required, as the canonization bulls of that era and the works of the canonists attest, an "excellentia virtutum", a "multiplex excellentia vitae". But there was lacking, so to speak, a kind of measure of holiness, conformable to human possibilities of measuring supernatural things. Such a measure was found precisely in the concept of the heroicity of virtues, which came from Aristotelian ethics; the literature ascetic-mystical and theological literature had applied it to the Christian virtues; the College of the Salmanticenses, in a petition to Clement VIII for the canonization of Teresa of Jesus (Feb. 2, 1602), introduced for the first time the concept of the heroicity of the virtues into the causes of the saints. The auditors of the Rota as well began (around 1614-16) to follow this idea in their relations and summarized it outright in the form that has remained classic: « itaque ad hunc effectum (that is, for the canonization) virtutes heroicae in canonizandis requiruntur ». Urban VIII in his many decrees does not use this term; he does, however, speak of it in the apostolic letters for the concession, « ad interim », of the title of blessed to Gaetano da Thiene (1629) and to John of God (1630). The heroicity of the virtues is in fact nothing other than a state of perfection or of holiness that allows the man who possesses it a certain permanent facility in performing acts of virtue in a higher degree, and in a habitual and normal form. This presupposes a complete transformation of the interior of the soul, the restoration, as far as possible, of man to the state of innocence, under the influence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now, it is not given to us to make a direct introspection into souls, but we can deduce the internal state from external acts. Herein lies the practical, concrete foundation of the judgment on the heroicity of the virtues: the witnesses examined in the processes supply the material, that is, the account of a quantity of facts and episodes of the life of the servant of God, the comparison of which permits a valid conclusion regarding the internal motive from which they spring. For these reasons the idea of the heroicity of the virtues entered rapidly into the treatment of causes of canonization, and the whole inquiry carried out through the now ritual three assemblies — antepreparatory, preparatory and general — converges on ascertaining the existence, in the subject, of the virtues « in gradu heroico ». In the same second half of the 17th century, the theological discussion and elaboration of this concept also reached its peak: the treatise of Brancati da Lauria De virtute heroica (1668) has remained classic (v. bibliography); Lappi (1671) drew from it the consequences for the causes of the saints, and Benedict XIV, in his monumental work on canonization, gathered all the pertinent elements on the subject in a definitive manner. From this evolution there also derives the fact that the juridical conclusion, after the discussion on the heroicity of the virtues, rapidly acquired a higher value; it constitutes, in fact, a true formal judgment of the Supreme Pontiff on the reality of the heroic virtues in the subject whose cause is proposed, and opens the way to the supreme glorification, when it is supported by miracles worked by God through the intercession of the servant of God.

At first, after the discussion on the virtues of a servant of God, when the judgment had been favorable and when the Pope had given his consent, the matter was simply noted among the acts of the Congregation of Rites; but very soon the pontifical decision on this point presented itself in all its fundamental importance for a cause; therefore a certain ceremonial developed around it. At the time of Clement XI (1700-21) it was already the custom that the Pope deferred his decision somewhat, and only after a certain interval of prayer and reflection, on a forthcoming feast day, opened his « mind » in the presence of the secretary and the promoter general of the Faith, summoned for this purpose, and ordered its publication among the acts. Benedict XIV sometimes he dictated the text personally "verbum ad verbum." The Camera printing house then oversaw its printing, and the text was posted on the doors of the churches of Rome. After 1760 the text of these decrees became less formalistic and took on a more solemn tone, often beginning with a biblical quotation. The reading of these decrees was made even more solemn in that the Pope had them read in public, after a papal chapel or a pontifical visit to one of the churches of Rome. From 1870 onward the reading generally took place in the Hall of the Consistory, in the presence of a host of invited guests and of representatives of those interested in the cause; on these occasions the Pope was also accustomed to deliver a discourse. Those of Pius XI were famous. But after his illness (1938) this custom ceased and was never resumed, and now the reading takes place in private form, in the presence of the cardinal ponente, the secretary, the promoter general and the postulator of the cause. It should be noted that the decrees on the introduction of the cause, on miracles and on the "Tuto" were also customarily (at least after 1800) read with similar solemnity. But at present even these decrees are published in private form.

Among the various more recent decrees concerning the causes of beatification and canonization, let us recall only that of Pius X (26 Aug. 1913; AAS, 5 [1913], pp. 436-38), by which he restricted the use of the title generabile to the servants of God whose heroic virtue or the fact of martyrdom has been recognized; he prescribed, in recent causes, that all adverse witnesses also be heard in the processes, poena nullitatis; and finally he established wise norms to better guarantee, in ancient causes, the collection and the examination of documents. Finally, by the motu proprio "Già da qualche tempo," Pius XI, dated 6 Feb. 1930, instituted, within the Congregation of Rites, the Historical Section, a permanent body charged with everything concerning the preparation of ancient causes and, in any case, with everything relating to history and historical criticism in connection with the matters to be handled in the Congregation (revision of historical lessons, revision of liturgical books, and the like).

Throughout this period the place of celebration of canonizations is the Vatican Basilica; this custom has prevailed since the return of the popes from Avignon. Boniface IX, on account of an indisposition of his, celebrated the canonization of St. Bridget in the inner chapel of the pontifical Vatican palace, but the following day he went down to the Vatican Basilica for the solemn Mass. Alexander VII, when he prescribed solemn beatification as the concluding act of the first phase toward canonization, wanted it in St. Peter's: "ut ibi fieret beatificatio, ubi fit canonizatio." Benedict XIII, when he solemnly consecrated the Lateran Basilica (1729), in order to save expense, since the basilica was magnificently adorned, celebrated there the canonization of St. John Nepomucene and the beatification of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (19 and 24 March). Clement XII too, a great patron of the said basilica, celebrated there the only canonization of his pontificate (1736) and the beatification of St. Joseph of Leonessa. Benedict XIV (13 Dec. 1741) issued a constitution in which he established that canonization and beatification, whenever the Pope was present in Rome, be celebrated exclusively in the Vatican Basilica. However, the canonizations of 1881 and 1888, under Leo XIII, owing to the political events of 1870 and the following years, were celebrated as best they could be in the Hall of Blessings, above the atrium of St. Peter's; only in 1897 did they return to the basilica.

Note should also be taken of the case in which several saints were canonized in a single canonization. Under Gregory XV, when the first case of a fivefold canonization occurred, it was deliberated and concluded that the order of antiquity, that is, the date of death, be observed, preferring only St. Ignatius of Loyola, as founder, to his spiritual son, St. Francis Xavier, whence the following order resulted: Isidore the Farmer, Ignatius, Francis, Teresa of Ávila and Philip Neri. But under Clement X an opinion was sought from the famous canonist G. B. De Luca, who proposed the hierarchical order, a principle accepted with the decree of 6 Dec. 1670: "servandum esse ordinem hierarchiae ecclesiasticae; et si plures sint eodem ordine, praeferatur dies mortis." Finally, under Clement XII (decree of 17 Apr. 1737), precedence was granted, within the same hierarchical order, to a religious founder. All, however, are preceded by a martyr, martyrdom being the most exalted testimony for Christ.

Some information is now useful concerning certain particular aspects of the celebration of canonization. The solemn procession that precedes the Pope when he descends from the pontifical rooms into St. Peter's is in some way very ancient, since the Pope had to be solemnly received upon his arrival already in the Middle Ages. But from the time when canonizations were constantly celebrated in St. Peter's, the Pope was accompanied by the whole court and the pontifical household. Of this we are certain already from the 15th century. The procession for the canonization of St. Hyacinth opened with the canticle of the Ave Maria Stella, a custom that has remained to this day. The custom of carrying a standard with the image of the new saint goes back to the canonization of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr (1253), and is attributed even to a miracle; it is related, that is, that the image of the saint appeared suddenly before the procession, which subsequently led to the custom of an enormous standard, as is still used. The display of another standard hanging from the facade of St. Peter's goes back at least to the construction of the new St. Peter's.

The triple postulation addressed to the Pope for canonization appears in its full form as early as 1482 (canonization of St. Bonaventure). The procurator of the cause, at the end of the Middle Ages and, until about the 18th century, always the ambassador of a Catholic power, assisted by a concubitorial advocate, addressed the Pope, asking instantius that he be willing to canonize the servant of God in question. The secretary for princes replied, and the litany of the saints was intoned. The same ones repeated the request instantius, the said secretary replied again, and the Veni Creator Spiritus was intoned; finally, after the third request instantissime, the Pope pronounced the definition, after which the advocate, on behalf of the ambassador, asked that the act be drawn up. The Te Deum closed everything. This solemn rite was maintained until our own days, when, in order to shorten the very long ceremony, the litany of the saints was moved forward to the entrance of the procession, while the three petitions were combined into a single one, followed by the Veni Creator and the definition. Still in the time of Clement XI the formula of canonization itself varied somewhat. Clement XI himself, who greatly loved to preach to the people, also delivered the homily after the canonization, a custom that before him was not always observed, but that after him became the rule.

The oblations, a ceremony among the most singular and characteristic of the canonization, in their present form, go back, as has already been said, at least to that of St. Bridget (1391). Benedict XIII, having sought an opinion from the blessed Cardinal Tommasi, suppressed the use of the oblation of animals; however, Benedict XIV restored it outright, and it remained in force down to today. As for its origin, the authors who assert that the same pontifical master of ceremonies Pietro Amely, whose description survives, had been its inventor, are misled by a hasty reading; Amely says only that the sumptuous apparatus of the pontifical chapel for that celebration was of his own invention; the rite itself of the oblations, including that of the animals, appears to be older; but we lack information. The oblations of candles, breads and wine are taken from the ritual of the dedication of churches or of the consecration of bishops. The more or less learned deductions of ancient and modern authors concerning the meaning of the oblation of animals are without real foundation.

A final word about the lavish decoration used in canonizations. Already the various notices and descriptions contained in the Ordo Rom., XIV and XV, in the diaries of Paris de Grassi, in the Roman ceremonial of Marcellus, unanimously recall the richness of the decoration and illumination used in canonizations. In the new Vatican Basilica, with its vastness, which lends itself so magnificently to pontifical ceremonies, the design of the decorations was soon entrusted to the most renowned artists. It suffices to consult the engravings inserted in the printed acts of the canonizations, to admire the variety and grandeur of such apparatuses, which sometimes even changed the appearance of the basilica. Among the best-known artists whose designs survive, we recall Bernini, Borromini, Carlo Fontana, Vanvitelli, Valadier, Poletti and Vespigniani. For half a century this design has no longer been varied. The introduction of electric lighting has led to fixing the number of chandeliers and their arrangement (it is said that there are about one hundred thousand lights).

V. LIST OF THE CANONIZATIONS PREPARED BY THE SACRED CONGREGATION OF RITES, FROM CLEMENT VIII (1594) UP TO PIUS XII (there follow at the end the canonizations already definitively fixed for the Holy Year 1950 up to the whole of June 1949. Note that at times the bulls of canonization were not published at the same time as the act of solemn canonization; the list gives only the dates of the solemn canonizations).

Clement VIII, on 14 April 1594, St. Hyacinth Odrowąż (15 Aug. 1257); on 29 April 1600, St. Raymond of Peñafort (6 Jan. 1275).

Paul V, on 29 May 1608, St. Frances of the Ponziani (9 March 1440); on 1 Nov. 1610, St. Charles Borromeo (3 Nov. 1584).

Gregory XV celebrated, on 12 March 1622, for the first time in history, the canonization of a group of five saints: St. Teresa of Jesus (15 Oct. 1582), St. Philip Neri (26 May 1595), St. Ignatius of Loyola (31 July 1556), St. Francis Xavier (2 Dec. 1552), St. Isidore the Farmer (15 May 1530).

Urban VIII, on 25 May 1625, St. Elizabeth Queen of Portugal (4 July 1336); on 24 April 1629, St. Andrew Corsini (6 Jan. 1373).

After an interruption of almost thirty years:

Alexander VII, on 1 Nov. 1658, St. Thomas of Villanova (8 Sept. 1555); on 19 April 1665, St. Francis de Sales (28 Dec. 1622).

Clement IX, on 28 April 1669, St. Peter of Alcántara (18 Oct. 1562) and St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi (25 May 1607).

Clement X, second cumulative canonization of five saints, on 12 April 1671: St. Rose of Lima (24 Aug. 1617), St. Louis Bertrand (9 Oct. 1581), St. Cajetan of Thiene (7 Aug. 1547), St. Francis Borgia (30 Sept. 1572), St. Philip Benizi (22 Aug. 1585).

Alexander VIII, another canonization of five saints on 16 Oct. 1690: St. Lawrence Giustiniani (8 Jan. 1455), St. John of St. Facundus (11 June 1479), St. Paschal Baylon (17 May 1592), St. John of God (8 March 1550), St. John of Capistrano (23 Oct. 1456).

Clement XI, on 22 May 1712, St. Pius V (1 May 1572), St. Andrew Avellino (10 Nov. 1608), St. Felix of Cantalice (18 May 1587), St. Catherine Vigri of Bologna (9 March 1463).

Benedict XIII, on 10 Dec. 1726, St. Turibius Alfonso of Mogrovejo (23 March 1606), St. James of the March (28 Nov. 1476), St. Agnes Segni of Montepulciano (20 April 1317); on 27 Dec. 1726, St. Peregrine Laziosi (1 May 1345), St. John of the Cross (de Yepes; 14 Dec. 1591), St. Francis Solano (14 July 1610); on 31 Dec. 1726, St. Aloysius Gonzaga (21 June 1591) and St. Stanislaus Kostka (15 Aug. 1568); on 16 May 1728, St. Margaret of Cortona (22 Feb. 1297); on 19 March 1729, St. John (Nepomucene) Welflin of Pomuk (16 May 1593).

Clement XII, on 16 June 1736, St. Vincent de Paul (Depaul; 27 Sept. 1660), St. John Francis Regis (31 Dec. 1640), St. Catherine Fieschi-Adorno, of Genoa (15 Sept. 1510), St. Juliana Falconieri (19 June 1340).

Benedict XIV, third quintuple canonization, on 29 June 1746: St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (Mark Roy; 24 April 1622), St. Camillus de Lellis (14 July 1614), St. Peter Regalado (13 May 1456), St. Joseph of Leonessa (4 Feb. 1612), St. Catherine de' Ricci (2 Feb. 1590).

Clement XIII performed the first canonization of six saints together on 16 July 1767: St. John Vacenga of Kany (24/25 Dec. 1473), St. Joseph of Copertino (18/19 Sept. 1663), St. Joseph Calasanz (25 Aug. 1648), St. Jerome Emiliani (8 Feb. 1537), St. Seraphin of Montegranaro (12 Oct. 1604), St. Jane Frances Frémiot de Chantal (13 Dec. 1641). There follows a gap of 40 years.

Pius VII performs another canonization of 5 saints, on 24 May 1807: St. Francis Caracciolo (4 June 1608), St. Benedict of St. Philadelphus, the "Moor" (4 April 1589), St. Angela Merici (27 Jan. 1540), St. Colette Boilet (6 March 1447), St. Hyacintha Marescotti (30 Jan. 1640). There follows another gap of 35 years.

Gregory XVI, on 26 May 1839, proceeds to another quintuple canonization: St. Alphonsus M. de' Liguori (1 Aug. 1787), St. Francis of Jerome (11 May 1716), St. John Joseph of the Cross (Charles Gaetano; 5 March 1734), St. Pacificus of St. Severino (24 Sept. 1721), St. Veronica Ursula Giuliani (9 July 1727).

Pius IX, on 8 June 1862: the 26 Japanese martyrs (6 Franciscans, 3 Jesuits, 17 laymen; 5 Feb. 1597) and St. Michael de Santi (10 April 1725); on 29 June 1867, solemn canonization for the centenary of the death of St. Peter: St. Josaphat Kuncevič (12 Nov. 1623) and St. Peter of Arbués (17 Sept. 1485), martyrs; on 19 [sic] the martyrs of Gorkum (11 Franciscans, one Dominican, three Premonstratensians, one canon of St. Augustine, four secular priests, one layman: 9 July 1572), St. Paul of the Cross (Paolo Francesco Danei; 18 Oct. 1775), St. Leonard of Port Maurice (26 Nov. 1751), St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds (Anna Maria Gallo; 6 Oct. 1791), St. Germaine Cousin (1601 without further indication; her feast was fixed on 15 June).

Leo XIII, 18 Dec. 1881, St. John Baptist de Rossi (23 May 1764), St. Lawrence of Brindisi (Cesare de Rossi; 22 July 1619), St. Benedict Joseph Labre (16 Apr. 1783), St. Clare of Montefalco (18 Aug. 1308); on 15 Jan. 1888, the Seven Founders of the Order of the Servants of Mary, St. Peter Claver (8 Sept. 1654), St. John Berchmans (13 Aug. 1621), St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (31 Oct. 1617); on 27 May 1897, St. Anthony M. Zaccaria (5 July 1539), St. Peter Fourier (9 Dec. 1640); on 24 May 1900, St. John Baptist de la Salle (7 Apr. 1719), St. Rita of Cascia (22 May 1457).

Pius X, 11 Dec. 1904, St. Alexander Sauli (11 Oct. 1592), St. Gerard Majella (15 Oct. 1755); on 20 May 1909, St. Joseph Oriol (22 March 1702), St. Clement M. Hofbauer (15 March 1820).

Benedict XV, on 13 May 1920, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (Francesco Posenti; 27 Feb. 1862) and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (17 Oct. 1690), and on the following 16th St. Joan of Arc (30 May 1431).

Pius XI celebrated 15 canonizations. In the holy year 1925: on 17 May 1925, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (Ter. Martin; 21 Dec. 1897); on the 21st, St. Peter Canisius (Kanis, Kanijs; 21 Dec. 1597); on the 24th, St. Mary Magdalene Postel (16 July 1846), St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (24 May 1865); on the 31st, St. John Eudes (19 Aug. 1680), St. John Bapt. M. Vianney (4 Aug. 1859). On 22 June 1929, St. Lucy Filippini (25 March 1732), St. Catherine Thomás (5 Apr. 1574); on the 29th, the eight Jesuit "Canadian" martyrs, St. John de Brébeuf and companions (1642-49), St. Robert Bellarmine (17 Sept. 1621), St. Theophilus of Corte (19 May 1740). During the Holy Year of the Redemption 1933-34 there were six canonizations. On 4 June 1933, St. Andrew Hubert Fournet (13 May 1834); on 8 Dec., St. Mary Bernard Soubirous (16 Apr. 1879); on 14 Jan. 1934, St. Joan Antida Thouret (24 Aug. 1826); on 4 March, St. Mary Michael of the Most Blessed Sacrament (Desmaisières; 24 Aug. 1865); on the 11th, St. Louise de Marillac, widow Le Gras (15 March 1660); on the 19th, St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (30 Apr. 1842), St. Pompilius M. Pirrotti (15 July 1766), St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Anna M. Redi; 7 March 1770); on 1 Apr. 1934, St. John Bosco (31 Jan. 1888); on 20 May, St. Conrad of Parzham (Giov. Ev. Birndorfer; 21 Apr. 1894). On 19 May 1935, St. John Fisher (22 June 1535) and St. Thomas More (6 July 1535); on 17 Apr. 1938, St. Andrew Bobola (16 May 1657), St. John Leonardi (9 Oct. 1609), St. Salvator of Horta (18 March 1567).

Pius XII, on 3 May 1940, St. Gemma Galgani (11 Apr. 1903), St. Mary of St. Euphrasia Pelletier (24 Apr. 1868); on 7 July 1946, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (22 Dec. 1917); on 15 May 1947, St. Nicholas of Flüe (21 March 1487); on 22 June, St. John de Britto (4 Feb. 1693), St. Bernardino Realino (2 July 1616), St. Joseph Cafasso (23 June 1860); on 6 July, St. Michael Garicoïts (14 May 1863) and St. Elizabeth Bichier des Ages (26 Aug. 1838); on 20 July, St. Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort (28 Apr. 1716); on 27 July, St. Catherine Labouré (31 Dec. 1876); on 15 May 1949, St. Jane de Lestonnac (2 Feb. 1640); on 12 June, St. Mary Joseph Rossello (7 Dec. 1880); on 22 May 1950, St. Bartholomea Capitanio (26 July 1833) and St. Vincenza Gerosa (28 June 1847); on 28 May 1950, St. Joan of Valois (4 Feb. 1505).

VI. EQUIPOLLENT CANONIZATION

The juridical term equipollent canonization is a creation, it seems, of Prospero Lambertini (Benedict XIV) and was specifically introduced in his well-known work on beatification and canonization. In his time, a distinction was customarily made in beatification between a formal beatification, carried out in full accordance with the canonical procedure, and an equipollent beatification. This distinction arose in the times of Urban VIII; by force of his decrees, when a liturgical cult pre-existed under certain juridical conditions, it was possible to obtain from the Holy See its recognition, equivalent in practical effects to a formal beatification: hence the designation beatification "equipollent." Now Lambertini, gathering the immense material for his work, found a certain parallelism to formal and equipollent beatifications also in the field of canonization. He had to record cases where the final effect was identical to that attained by force of a formal canonization, without there ever having been either the canonical procedure or the act itself of a formal canonization. All these cases Lambertini collected under the designation "equipollent canonization." He discussed them at length in Book I, ch. 41, and glimpsed a twofold kind of equipollent canonization: 1) Many saints indeed, such as the martyrs of antiquity, the holy Fathers and ancient doctors, many medieval saints, enjoyed a universal cult throughout the whole Church, and no process was ever held concerning them, no sentence ever issued; everything was the effect of a historical development; according to Lambertini, we have here an equipollent canonization, and he does not omit, out of juridical scruple, to note that certainly the consent of the Supreme Pontiffs is not lacking in these cases, at least tacitly. There are then other saints, martyrs, confessors, virgins, who throughout the whole Church are commonly considered saints, but whose feast is celebrated only in certain regions, as, for example, Genevieve, Sigismund, Roch and countless others. Here too the consent of the Church exists, while the actual feast remains circumscribed. Here too the canonical procedure and the formal canonization are lacking, but the effect is the same; it suffices to recall that even for formally canonized saints, beyond the act of canonization, a second act is required, by which the Pope imposes the feast also upon the universal Church. Thus we are always within the sphere of equipollent canonization. 2) Lambertini, however, constitutes a second group of saints, for whom he ascertains the pontifical act of imposing the feast upon the whole Church, yet without any preceding canonical procedure or act of formal canonization. These are the saints inserted by pontifical act into the universal calendar. Since, moreover, a calendar of the universal Church, in the strict sense, has existed only since the times of St. Pius V (v. CALENDARIO DELLA CHIESA UNIVERSALE), equipollent canonization in this latter sense is found in all cases in which a Pope inserts the feast of a saint, never formally canonized, into the said calendar. Lambertini, among others, adduces as examples Sts. Romuald, Norbert, Bruno, Peter Nolasco, Raymond Nonnatus, John de Matha and Felix of Valois, Stephen of Hungary, Wenceslaus, Gregory VII, etc. After the times of Benedict XIV the list of such cases could be greatly lengthened (Sts. Peter Damian, Bede the Venerable, Cyril of Jerusalem and Cyril of Alexandria, Scholastica, Irenaeus, Boniface apostle of Germany, Augustine apostle of England, etc.).

Indeed the liturgists and canonists have accepted this way of seeing things of Lambertini, and down to our own times there passed as examples of equipollent canonization above all the cases of the insertion of saints not formally canonized into the calendar of the universal Church. However, the same Lambertini, in the same work, Book IV, part 2, ch. 6, dwells at length on the concession of Mass and Office in honor of saints not canonized; here he presents as examples, among others, also Norbert, Bruno, Peter Nolasco, John of Matha and Felix of Valois, Stephen of Hungary, all already presented as examples of equipollent canonization; now here he no longer speaks of equipollent canonization, but of something completely different. Are the cases cited, then, equipollent canonizations or not? At least the matter does not appear too clear, and the author has somewhat complicated things.

But the most recent times have finally brought us two pontifical acts, expressly declared as equipollent canonizations, namely the equipollent canonizations of St. Albert the Great, under Pius XI (16 Dec. 1931: AAS, 24 [1932], pp. 1-17) and of St. Margaret of Hungary under Pius XII (19 Nov. 1943: AAS, 36 [1943], pp. 33-40). In both cases there preceded a historical-critical study by the historical section of the Sacred Congregation of Rites and the subsequent discussions of the historical consultors and above all of the ordinary Congregation. The normal procedure was therefore lacking; no miracles were required; but the Supreme Pontiff proceeded, by his full authority, to the proclamation of the two persons as saints, and as to be venerated as such throughout the whole Church. For St. Albert the Great the feast was imposed at the same time upon the whole Church, given also that he had been declared, in the same pontifical act, a Doctor of the universal Church; the feast of St. Margaret, on the other hand, was not imposed upon the whole Church. In both pontifical acts it is clearly stated that the act itself is intended to be a true and full equipollent canonization.

From this moment there emerges, for equipollent canonization, a twofold acceptation: in the sense of Lambertini, that is, as an extension or imposition of the feast of a saint not formally canonized, and which today must be called equipollent canonization in an improper or broad sense; and in the sense of the two pontifical acts just cited, that is, the true and proper equipollent canonization in the strict sense.

When the schemas for the CIC were being elaborated, a schema had also been prepared for equipollent canonization, but it was then withdrawn in order to leave the Supreme Pontiffs full freedom to proceed in this field. Therefore no precise juridical definition or norm for the procedure ad casum exists. It is certain, however, that a person to be proposed to the Pope for an equipollent canonization must present certain indispensable elements, such as, for example, the authenticity of the person himself, the historical proof of the virtues or the certainty of martyrdom, the existence of true miracles worked by the person after his death, the existence of a true and proper ancient liturgical cult, its origin, its continuation, and a certain prominence of the person himself, elements historically proven in the two cases of true and proper equipollent canonization that have so far occurred.

VII. CANONIZATION AND THE CHURCH

In the life of the Catholic Church, canonization constitutes an essential element, inasmuch as it attests the holiness of the Church herself through history, a property or distinguishing mark of the true Church of Christ, confessed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed. This holiness must be externally verifiable, and the Church must be able to show the world the holiness of her members in a tangible way. What is at issue here is not only the common holiness to which all Christians are called, but above all the eminent holiness to which many Christians can attain and in fact do attain. The mark of eminent holiness was never lacking in the Catholic Church, but since it is an external element, the Church must have the means and the faculty to declare, in doctrinal form, that this or that person is truly holy, that is, that he expresses in his life the evangelical ideal, lived beforehand and demanded by Christ. This official declaration is precisely canonization.

For the life of the Church, therefore, it is necessary that the mark of holiness never be lacking in her, but it is not necessary for the Church that this or that person be canonized. Of the number of the saints who lived and will live in the Church, only a few are and will be those who, by the positive disposition of Providence, will arrive at the explicit recognition of holiness in canonization. This is also the reason why the Church, as such, does not take the initiative to introduce a cause, but leaves this to Providence, which for its purposes makes use of ordinary means and ways. Sometimes, however, the history of a cause reveals very clearly particular dispositions of God; see, for example, the extraordinary rapidity with which the cause of the Capuchin friar Conrad of Parzham was conducted (the cause most rapidly brought to completion in recent times: introduction 1914, canonization 1934).

The immediate and direct object of the papal definition, in canonization, is only the fact that the soul of the holy person certainly enjoys heavenly glory; this, however, is not a fact directly included in the treasury of supernatural revelation, closed after the death of the last apostle; therefore the Pope cannot define it as an object of divine faith, but only as an object of ecclesiastical faith. The Vatican Council, in its exposition of the Pope's infallibility, does not expressly name the canonization of saints as an object of pontifical infallibility. Yet it is the common doctrine of theologians that the Pope in canonization is truly infallible, since it is a most important act pertaining to the moral life of the universal Church, inasmuch as the saint is proposed not only for veneration because he enjoys heavenly glory, but also as a model of the virtues and of the real holiness of the Church. Now, it would be intolerable if the Pope in such a declaration, which implicates the whole Church, were not infallible. This doctrine emerges from not a few bulls of canonization, even from the Middle Ages, from the deductions of canonists, since the Middle Ages, and of theologians since St. Thomas Aquinas. - Benedict XIV teaches that it is certainly heretical and temerarious to teach the contrary. - See Tavy. XLII-XLIV.

HISTORICAL TREATISES: P. Dörfler, Die Anfänge der Heiligenverehrung nach den römischen Inschriften und Bildwerken, Munich 1913; L. Hertling, Materiali per la storia del processo di c., in Gregorianum, 16 (1935), pp. 170-95 (very important); F. Gagnon, De processu canonizationis a primis Ecclesiae saeculis usque ad CIC, Rome 1937-38 (dissertation); G. Giacqua, Ricerche sull'istituto giuridico della c. dalle origini alle Decretali di Gregorio IX, ibid. 1947.

JURIDICAL TREATISES, CANONICAL PROCEDURE: all the best canonists treat of the process of canonization in a more or less ample and profound manner. Only the principal ones are listed here: T. Malvezzi, Tractatus de sanctorum canonizatione, Bologna 1487, is the first printed canonistic treatise: it is also found in t. 14, vol. XX of the Tractatus universi Iuris, Venice 1534, fl. 97-103 v.; G. Castellani, Tractatus de sanctorum canonizatione, Rome 1520, Venice 1605; F. Contelori, Praxis de canonizatione sanctorum, Lyon 1609 and 1634, describes the procedure before the reform of Urban VIII; A. Rocca, De sanctorum canonizatione commentarius, Rome 1610; id., Opera omnia, II, ibid. 1719 (a work of much learning); L. Castellani, Elucidarium theologicum de certitudine gloriae sanctorum canonizatorum, ibid. 1618 and 1628 (very important because it treats of the state of evolution of the causes toward the reforms of Urban VIII); C. P. De Matta, Institutiones de canonizatione sanctorum tractatus, ibid. 1628 and 1668 (classic, because it stands at the transition between the pre-and post-Urbanian era); F. Scacchi, De cultu et veneratione sanctorum in ordine ad beatificationem et canonizationem, I, De notis et signis sanctitatis beatificandorum et canonizandorum, ibid. 1639 and 1679. The other three vols.: II. De martyrio, III. De beatificatione, IV. De ordine iudiciario harum causarum, have remained unpublished; A. Matteucci, Praxis theologico-canonica ad causas beatificationum et canonizationum pertractandas, Venice 1722 and 1751 (a good work, but soon overshadowed by that of P. Lambertini); S. Troma, Manuale pro conficiendis processibus in causis beatificationum, Naples 1904; G. Noval, Commentarium CIC, I, IV, part 2, De causis beatificationum servorum Dei et canonizationis beatorum, Turin-Rome 1932 (a very ample treatment inspired by the work of Benedict XIV, excellent information); J. Brosch, Der Heiligsprechungsprozess per viam cultus, Rome 1938 (illustrates the procedure of the confirmation of cult with ample exemplification taken from the cause of the b. Giuseppe Ermanno); S. Indelicato, Le basi giuridiche del processo di beatificazione. Dottrina e giurisprudenza intorno alla introduzione delle cause dei servi di Dio, ibid. 1944; id., Il processo apostolico di beatificazione, ibid. 1945 (continuation of the preceding); particular mention deserves the work that has become classic: Codex pro postulatoribus causarum beatificationis et canonizationis, sponsored by the Postulazione generale dei frati Minori; the 1st ed. was edited by the advocate of the Rites, L. Lauri (Rome 1879), the 2nd by the eccl. notary G. Fornari (ibid. 1909), the 3rd (ibid. 1923) and the 4th (ibid. 1929) by the Postulator General of the Franciscans, p. A. M. Santarelli.

ON HEROIC VIRTUE: L. Brancati de Lauria, De virtute heroica, in Commentaria in III et IV librum Sententarium Ioannis Duns Sosti, Rome 1653-82, II, Disputatio XXXII, pp. 700-815 (a fundamental theological study); M. Lappi, De heroiciate virtutum in beatificandis et canonizandis requisita, ibid. 1671, is the application of the theory to the treatment of causes; P. Lambertini (Benedict XIV), De Servorum Dei beatificationem et de beatorum canonizatione, III, chaps. 21-25 (pp. 207-85 of the Prato 1840 edition, the definitive formulation of the subject); R. Hofmann, Die heroische Tugend. Geschichte und Inhalt eines theologischen Begriffes, Munich 1933 (an extensive theoretical and practical study of the concetto di eroicità e della sua applicazione nelle cause dei santi); L. Hertling, Theologiae asceticae cursus brevior, 2ª ed., Roma 1944, pp. 3-23; R. Garrigou-Lagrange, Le virtù eroiche nei bambini, Torino s. d.

ON PONTIFICAL INFALLIBILITY IN c.: besides the theologians known to all such as St. Thomas, Bellarmine, Suarez, Bafetz etc. and the ordinary dogmatic treatises on the matter, cf.: L. Castellani, Elucidarium theologicum de certitudine gloriae sanctorum canonizatorum, Rome 1618 and 1628, with particular reference to the question; G. B. Micioli, Immunitas ab errore tam speculativo quam practico definitionem S. Sedis apostolicae in canonizatione sanctorum, Bologna 1668; F. Spedalieri, De infallibilitate Ecclesiae in sanctorum canonizatione causa seu titulo, in Antonianum, 22 (1947), pp. 3-22; id., De Ecclesiae infallibilitate in canonizatione sanctorum quaestiones selectae, Rome 1949.

RITE OF C. AND BEATIFICATION: Cardinal G. Gaetani Stefaneschi has preserved for us the account of three c. in which he took part: 1) of St. Celestine V, in 1313: De canonizatione Caelestini V, in Acta SS. Maii, IV, Paris 1866, pp. 479-80; 2) of St. Louis of Toulouse, in 1317; text in Ordo Romanus XIV, chaps. 111 and 115; PL 78, 1249-50, 1254-50; 3) of St. Thomas de Canteloup, in 1320; notice in L. H. Labaude, Le cérémonial romain de Jacques Caietan (Bibl. de l'École des chartes), ed. Paris 1893, p. 65 ff.; P. Amely, De canonizatione s. Brigidae (in 1301), in Ordo Romanus XV, chap. 153; PL 78, 1339-62; P. Galesini, Vita s. Bonaventurae (canonized in 1482), in Acta SS. Iulii, III, Paris 1867, p. 820 ff.; Cristoforo Marcello, Ritum eclesiasticorum sive sacrarum ceremoniarum S. R. E. libri tres, I, tit. 6: De canonizatione, Rome 1516 and subsequent editions. Cf. the ample and erudite exposition of this work, dedicated to Benedict XIV by Giuseppe Catalani (I, Rome, pp. 220-48); G. B. Mari, Diatriba de mystica verum significatione quae in sanctorum canonizatione ad Missarum solemnia S.mo Pontifici offerri olet, ibid. 1658; D. Cappello, Contextus actorum omnium in beatificatione et canonizatione s. Francisci de Sales, ep. Genevensis, a S.mo D. N. Alexandro VII P. M. Sanctorum fastis adscripti, ibid. 1665 (rite of beatification and of c.); U. De Rubris, Relazione dell'apparato fatto in S. Pietro per la c. de cinque santi... canonizzati al 16 ott. 1699 da Alessandro VIII, ibid. 1690; G. Chiapponi, Acta canonizationis sanctorum Pii V... habitae a S.mo D. N. Clemente XI... quibus accedit dissertatio eiusdem super mysteriis oblationem in Missa canonizationis..., ibid. 1720; G. B. Memmi, Il rito di canonizzare i santi piugata, ibid. 1726; G. Agnello, Dulvertatio: sul rito della c. de santi, Lucca 1737; G. Amici, Il sacro rito della c. brevemente descritto, Rome 1807, 2nd ed. enlarged by his son, ibid. 1839 (also French version); G. Moroni, Le Cappelle pontificie, cardinalizie e prelatizie, opera storico-liturgica, Venice 1841, especially pp. 98-132 and 366-68; St. Ciccolini, Delle oblazioni presentate al Sommo Pontefice nella c. de Beati..., Rome 1867 (also French version); J. Brinkrine, Die feierliche Papstmesse, ibid. 1925; Th. Klauser, Die Liturgie der Heiligprechung, in Heilige Überlieferung, Münster in W. 1938, pp. 212-33 (a very serious study); Anon., Rito e cerimonie per le beatificazioni e c.*, Milan 1947.

TRATTAZIONI ENCICLOPEDICHE: G. Moroni, s.v., in Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica..., VII, Venice 1841 (much material, but not always critically sifted); T. Ortolan, Canonisation dans l'Eglise romaine, in DThC, II, cols. 1626-59, a rather canonistic and doctrinal treatment with much bibl.: R. Naz, Causes de béatification et de canonisation, in DDC, III, cols. 10-37, predominantly canonistic, with bibl.: L. Hertling, Canonisation, in DSp, II (1937), cols. 77-85, contains a brief history; very important is a list of the published medieval processes; extensive doctrinal exposition from the ascetic point of view.

LISTS OF canonizations: the first printed list of canonizations is that of Pietro de Natulibus, Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum, Vicenza 1493, pp. 272-73 (ch. De sanctis super canonizatio); L. Castellani, Elucidarium theologicum de certitudine gloriae sanctorum canonizatorum, Rome 1628, pp. 430-52 (ch. Numerous catalogus librum iustorum tantum, qui publico ac solemni ritu ab Ecclesia Romana Dioorum albo adscripti fuere... nondum editus, in alphabetical order, without chronological indications); A. Rocca, De canonizatione sanctorum, in Opera omnia, I, ibid. 1719; ibid., pp. 146-50: Catalogus sanctorum quorum canonizationes inveniri potuerunt from 803 to 1601, the year in which this treatise was published, with a fairly critical system; I. Fontanini, Codex constitutionum qua Summi Pontificis ediderunt in solemni canonizatione sanctorum a Ioanne XV ad Benedictum XIII sive ab an. 993 ad a. D. 1779, ibid. 1720 (a fundamental but not complete work); Anon., Breve notizia delle solemni c. dei santi, celebrate in diversi tempi nella patriarcale basilica Vaticana, ibid. 1807, 2nd ed., ibid. 1839 (a rare work: the author was able to make use of manuscript notes of the pontifical masters of ceremonies); G. Moroni, Catalogus dei santi dei Romani Pontifici solennemente canonizzati, in Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica..., VII, Venice 1841, pp. 307-11: not very critical with regard to the Middle Ages; Anon., in Analecta iuris pontificii, 5 (1861), coll. 1957-59 (from 993 to 1861, molto sobrio); X. Barbier de Montault, Oeuvres complètes, IX, Poitiers 1894, pp. 134-44 (Catalogue des Canonisations, dal 993 al 1888, compilazione non sempre critica); A. Battandier, Annuaire pontifical catholique, 4 (1901), pp. 528-55 (cap. Liste des béatifications et canonisations faites au XIXe siècle: 1804-1900; da notare che il Battandier indica le date delle relative bolle e lettere apostoliche le quali però non sempre sono quelle della solennità stessa); ibid., 6 (1903) pp. 409-10 (cap. Canonisations formelles, catalogo ricchissimo, ma non sempre storicamente sicuro); Catalogo de los statos que han viido canonizados por los Romanos Pontífices desde León III a principios del siglo IX hasta el papa reinante Pío X (elenco acritico), in Euc. cur.-amer., XI, p. 195; K. Richstatter, Die Heiligen des letzten Jahrtausends, in Stimmen der Zeit, 112 (1927), pp. 82-84 (elenco dei santi canonizzati, disposto secondo la data della loro morte, fino al 1925, molto accurato); M. R. Toynbee, St Louis of Toulouse and the process of canonisation in the fourteenth century, Manchester 1929 (nell'appendice D, le c. del sec. XIII, nell'appendice E, quelle del sec. XIV, ma include anche c. locali); Th. Klauser, Die Liturgie der Heiligsprechung, in Heilige Überlieferung, Münster 1938, pp. 229-33 (indice delle c. dal 993 al 1485, ma solo quelle di cui si conoscono le fonti storiche sicure, che vengono sempre citate; utilissimo, e di prima importanza); Anon. [A. Carincil, Acta canonisationis Pii XI, I, Roma 1939, pp. 12-16 (elenco delle c. dal 1888 al 1939).

STATISTICS OF THE CAUSES PENDING BEFORE THE S. CONGR. OF RITES: the S. Congr. of Rites has published, since 1890, from time to time, the Catalogus et status causarum beatificationis Servorum Dei et Beatorum canonizationis. We give a complete list of them with an indication of the number of causes noted therein: 1890, status as of Oct. 1: causes no. 152; 1895, status as of Jan. 1: causes no. 215; 1901, status as of March 1: causes no. 287; 1909, status as of Apr. 1: causes no. 321; 1921, status as of Nov. 1: causes no. 328; 1931, status as of Sept. 1: causes no. 551. Up to this year only the causes that proceed by the via non cultus, that is, by the ordinary way, are noted. Furthermore: 1941, status as of Apr. 13: causes no. 764. The increase in the number depends in part on the criterion adopted, of also noting the causes per viam cultus (confirmation of cult).

Giuseppe Löw