To be fair, this isn’t always the case.
St Francis died in 1226, and was declared a Saint in 1228. Not sure if he even went thru the step of beatification. I bet if I did more research I could find more cases of where it didn’t take decades.
It’s always wise to remember that the Church has a 2000 year history. How She has done things in the past aren’t set in stone. She ebbs and flows as the Holy Spirit inspires Her.
At some point, Catholics are going to have to give this up. Pope John Paul intervened in a miracle. His life has been proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt to be one of heroic virtue. Those are the only two canonical requirements for beatification and they can be bypassed by the pope. In Pope John Paul’s case as in Mother Teresa’s case, they were recognized and they beatification followed. That’s the normal sequence.
Other saints and blesseds took longer because of one of two reasons or both.
- There was no miracle.
- The studies did not begin soon enough.
Yes, St. Francis and most of the Franciscan saints of the fist generation Franciscans were never Venerable, never beatified, never required to produce a single miracle.
Every Pope from 1226 to 1300 had a relationship with the Franciscans. The popes knew these men and women personally. They proceeded directly to canonization based on their knowledge alone.
The fastest Franciscan canonization was that of St. Anthony of Padua, second is that of St. Clare of Assisi and third is that of St. Francis of Assisi. They are not the only men and women who were canonized without the process. There were others too.
We have to remember that canonization begins about the late 11Th and early 12Th century. Prior, bishops canonized in their own dioceses and then sent the news to Rome. The pope confirmed or retracted the canonization. Prior to this, canonization was by public acclaim.
None of the prophets, patriarchs, apostles and fathers of the Church were ever formally canonized.
Whether canonization takes place through public acclaim such as is the case with the Apostles and the Fathers, through the local bishop with the blessing of the pope or as we have it now, through an Ex Cathedra statement from the pope, the fact remains the same. Time is not the issue. The issue is a life of heroic Christian virtue. Even the miracle is not the issue.
In the case that is given here, our Holy Father Francis, Pope Gregory IX was told about alleged miracles by Francis, after his death. His response was that he believed they were true, because he knew Francis personally. He said the same about St. Anthony. He proceeded to canonize both of them. He told his nephew, that he wanted him to be the Cardinal Protector of the Franciscans, a post that he occupied when he was Cardinal Hugolino. He pointed out to his nephew, Cardinal di Jenne, to keep an eye on Mother Clare, because she would be the next Franciscan saint.
At the time, Pope Gregory, did not know that his nephew would be elected pope, Alexander IV. Alexander canonized Clare less than two years after her death. When asked to convene a commission to study her life he went ballistic.
If I’m not mistaken, his uncle established a precedent as well. Pope Gregory IX, at Francis’ canonization, for the first time in history imposed on the entire Catholic Church the veneration of a saint. Prior to that, the decree simply said that X was among the saints. Gregory added that Francis was among the saints and that from that day forward he was to be inscribed in the book of saints and venerated by the whole Church. Those words are still part of the decree.
People often confuse veneration with personal devotion. One is not bound to have a devotion to any saint or blessed. But we are bound to publicly and privately acknowledge that they are saints or blessed and if they have a feast day assigned to them, the Church is bound to celebrate it unless there is a liturgical reason not to do so. When Pope John Paul is beatified, a feast day will be assigned to him. Because he is a pope, his feast day can be observed in any diocese, unlike other blesseds whose feasts are observed in specific dioceses or religious communities and don’t become universal feasts or memorials until they are canonized. That’s why we can have and do have parish churches in this country named Pope John XXIII. Popes who are beatified belong to the Universal Church.
The point is that we have to stop this preoccupation with time. The issue is about a life of heroic virtue and is there an approved miracle. John Paul meets both criteria as far as the Church is concerned. What difference does it make if he is beatified this year or in ten?
The Holy Father wants to do this now and he has the authority to do it. He could have done it without a study, just like his predecessors Gregory, Alexander and others. There have been saints who have been canonized within a year of their death.
We’re talking about time as if waiting is going to make a difference. The man has lived a life of heroic Christian virtue. He has a miracle under his belt. The pope agrees that he should be beatified. What else do we want? What authority do we have to even say what we want on this matter?
On May ND the deed will be done and everyone will be calling him Bl. John Paul II. The beatification of a person is out of my reach. We need to learn to be at peace.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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