Question about Canonisation

[ses]

Hi everyone, this is my first question on CAF so be nice

I’m a Catholic but I was wondering something about the process for the canonisation of a saint. Allow me to present a hypothetical situation.

Let’s say someone (we’ll call them A) is praying for a miracle through the intercession of a dead person (B) who the Church has declared to be venerable. And let’s say that B is not in heaven; they weren’t actually that venerable.

If a miracle occurs, how do we know it was through B’s intercession and not through a direct act of God’s mercy? Or through the intercession of another saint in heaven? And could this lead to a person being canonised who isn’t in heaven?

I’m sure there’s a solid answer for this, I just don’t know it :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

 

[Dan_Defender]

Fatal flaw in your logic: if the soul is not in Heaven and the intercession is invoked, no miracle will occur. In 2000 years of Christianity it has never been known to happen. God does not make mistakes.

 

[ses]

But what if another person (C) is praying for the intercession of another saint for that same miracle to occur?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

First of all, given the tiny number of people who even make it to “Venerable”, the person is probably in heaven.

Second, generally these miracles are checked to make sure the person praying wasn’t invoking other saints or doing other things that might cause confusion as to which saint interceded.

Third, all miracles are direct acts of God’s mercy. God is not going to act in any kind of confusing way when he wishes to endorse someone’s sainthood.

 

[ses]

That seems like a pretty good answer, thanks!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

But what if another person © is praying for the intercession of another saint for that same miracle to occur?

If this is shown to have happened then the miracle doesn’t count and they wait for the next miracle to present itself. I’ve read of miracles being dismissed from consideration because of this.

 

[Todd_Easton]

And could this lead to a person being canonised who isn’t in heaven?

No. When the pope declares a person a saint, his declaration is infallible, protected from error by the Holy Spirit, regardless of whether or not the miracles attributed to the saint’s intercession prior to their canonization were in fact due to the saint’s intercession.

 

[ioannes_pius]

It’s generally understood that canonizations are infallible, so the Church cannot canonize someone who is not in Heaven; it is protected from doing so. Nearly all of the theologians which have ever lived were/are in agreement on this point (the infallibility of canonizations) including St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Alphonsus Ligouri.