Political Saints?

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CivisRomanusSum

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Hi, silly question really šŸ˜ƒ

I was wondering if there have been politicians canonized by the Church. Here in my country thereā€™s always the thought of almost all politicians going to hell because theyā€™re corrupt, selfish, etc. This outlook troubles me, because I myself am majoring in Political Science in a university and looking to become a lawyer one day. Canā€™t get any more secular than that :o

Of course, there could be exceptions. I personally consider Cory Aquino to be a saint in her own right. So Iā€™m looking for people who have worked in secular environments (more specifically the public/judicial life) and who have been virtuous and devout enough to have been canonized by the Church. I would consider martyrs, but Iā€™m looking more for confessors of the faith, so that I can strive to live my considerably secular vocation as God wants me to.

Looking forward to your replies. Thank you.

Ave Maria! Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
 
Well there is Blessed Charles I, who was more a monarch than a politician, but he still lead a political life. St. Thomas More was also something of a politician, and he was quite virtuous. Iā€™d say part of the problem is that due to the fact that for most of Church history the main form of government has been monarchy, you wonā€™t find the kinds of politicians weā€™re used to today. Still, there are some canonized monarchs such as St. Edward the Confessor. Life as a virtuous leader is possible, but extremely difficult.
 
Just recently a government official was killed for standing up for Catholic principles.I canā€™t recall the country(maybe someone else here can help me out).Anyway heā€™s being considered as a martyr for his faith.Donā€™t know if heā€™ll ever be canonized though.It may have been in Iraq but Im not sure.
 
Some may consider Joan of Arc a political saint but its probably not the same way in which you are referrring.
 
Archbishop Stepanic of Cratia would be one, but he was political as an Archbishop, and I canā€™t say his politics should have been considered saintly by anyone, given his support for the Nazi satellite regime in his country when like any decent person he should have been opposing it.
 
Hokomai said:
Archbishop Stepanic of Cratia would be one, but he was political as an Archbishop, and I canā€™t say his politics should have been considered saintly by anyone, given his support for the Nazi satellite regime in his country when like any decent person he should have been opposing it.
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Well he was declared a martyr and beatified by JPII and the current Holy Father just visited his grave and praised him. While a controversial figure, I believe the Church would argue your point. He helped many Jews and defied the communist regime, getting imprisoned for it. Just sayingā€¦
 
Actually I think he was imprisoned for his actions during the war. And I should have written ā€˜Croatiaā€™!
 
Hokomai said:
Actually I think he was imprisoned for his actions during the war. And I should have written ā€˜Croatiaā€™!
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Well thatā€™s what the Communist propoganda was, but it was a typical Communist persecution because Stepinac was outspoken against their regime they put on a show trial of trumped up charges and accused him of war crimes and the whole 9 yards, but regardless of my personal opinion on the matter, the Church has spoken with her authority on the matter in the form of two Holy Fathers, heā€™s beatified, and they did their own investigation and research into the matter. I trust the Churchā€¦
 
St. Louis (Louis IX) was King of France in the 13th century and was said to be have been a righteous monarch who took to wearing hairshirts regularily. He died from disease during one of the last Crusades. And let us not forget St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, who inspired the classix song ā€œGood King Wenceslas,ā€ St. Stephen of Hungary, St. Edward the Confessor, or Bld. Karl of Austria (the last Emperor). There are also a number of royal women who have been canonized, such as St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, or Constantine the Greatā€™s mother, St. Helen. In addition, a few years ago, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized virtually all of the Romanovs who were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
 
Young_Thinker said:
St. Louis (Louis IX) was King of France in the 13th century and was said to be have been a righteous monarch who took to wearing hairshirts regularily. He died from disease during one of the last Crusades. And let us not forget St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, who inspired the classix song ā€œGood King Wenceslas,ā€ St. Stephen of Hungary, St. Edward the Confessor, or Bld. Karl of Austria (the last Emperor). There are also a number of royal women who have been canonized, such as St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, or Constantine the Greatā€™s mother, St. Helen. In addition, a few years ago, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized virtually all of the Romanovs who were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
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Another person to add to that list is St. Casimir, a prince of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
 
Young_Thinker said:
St. Louis (Louis IX) was King of France in the 13th century and was said to be have been a righteous monarch who took to wearing hairshirts regularily. He died from disease during one of the last Crusades. And let us not forget St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, who inspired the classix song ā€œGood King Wenceslas,ā€ St. Stephen of Hungary, St. Edward the Confessor, or Bld. Karl of Austria (the last Emperor). There are also a number of royal women who have been canonized, such as St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, or Constantine the Greatā€™s mother, St. Helen. In addition, a few years ago, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized virtually all of the Romanovs who were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
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Thereā€™s also St. Ladislaus, who * was King of Hungary some time after the death of St. Stephen.

All the other ones you mentioned are great! šŸ‘*
 
valentino said:
Just recently a government official was killed for standing up for Catholic principles.I canā€™t recall the country(maybe someone else here can help me out).Anyway heā€™s being considered as a martyr for his faith.Donā€™t know if heā€™ll ever be canonized though.It may have been in Iraq but Im not sure.
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He was a government minster in Pakistan-I canā€™t think of his name off the top of my head, either. He was the only Christian in a ministerial position. There was some talk in the Catholic news world about submitting his name to the Vatican for a cause of sainthood as a martyr.

Early in the 20th century, a President of Ecuador was killed by anti-Catholic enemies. His name was Gabriel Garcia-Morena. I think he knew the famous Father Mateo, who promoted the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the family. President Morena consecrated his country to the Sacred Heart. And he was shot to death after leaving Mass.
 
barb_finnegan said:
He was a government minster in Pakistan-I canā€™t think of his name off the top of my head, either. He was the only Christian in a ministerial position. There was some talk in the Catholic news world about submitting his name to the Vatican for a cause of sainthood as a martyr.

Early in the 20th century, a President of Ecuador was killed by anti-Catholic enemies. His name was Gabriel Garcia-Morena. I think he knew the famous Father Mateo, who promoted the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the family. President Morena consecrated his country to the Sacred Heart. And he was shot to death after leaving Mass.
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And do not forget about Archbishop Oscar Romero (currently a Servant of God) or the six Jesuit martyrs of 1989. Interestingly enough, another Servant of God is Isabella of Castile (of ā€œFerdinand and Isabellaā€ fame and the mother of Catherine of Aragon).
 
Biedrik said:
Well there is Blessed Charles I, who was more a monarch than a politician, but he still lead a political life.
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Initially, I thought that you were talking about Charles I of England (who, as St. Charles the Martyr, was probably the only person to have been canonized by the Church of England) rather than Karl I of Austria!
 
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