Saints in diff Catholic Churches

[Anastasia13]

I read something recently that was confusing about saints being canonized by Rome vs. made saints in their specific church. If someone is a saint in one Catholic church, they are a saint to anyone in the Catholic church, right? Maybe just not emphasized/taught about as much?

 

[Filii_Dei]

I read something recently that was confusing about saints being canonized by Rome vs. made saints in their specific church. If someone is a saint in one Catholic church, they are a saint to anyone in the Catholic church, right? Maybe just not emphasized/taught about as much?

It would help if you could post a quotation or link to the material that you are troubled over. However, as we all know, saints are those who have gone directly to Heaven. Hence, saints are always saints, so no single church can claim ownership over them. Therefore, if a saint has been canonised by one church within the Catholic Church, they are a saint to all regardless of church affiliation, full stop.

Perhaps what was meant that certain jurisdictions choose to emphasise some saints more than others. This is because these saints can be related more easily to the public teaching of that Church. Every saint has their own unique story of holiness, and these could fit in with the particular heritage and spirituality of the churches in different ways. This does not mean that other churches cannot pray to this saint for intercessions too.

I should also add that churches which are not in communion with each other might not recognise all of the other’s saints, as both churches may disagree with each other over whether the particular individual could be saintly in virtue. This could be because of an asymmetrical experience with the individual in question. For example, a particular war leader or ruler could have been seen as a defender to one church, but the other might have seen him as a great persecutor.

 

[Anastasia13]

It would help if you could post a quotation or link to the material that you are troubled over. However, as we all know, saints are those who have gone directly to Heaven. Hence, saints are always saints, so no single church can claim ownership over them. Therefore, if a saint has been canonised by one church within the Catholic Church, they are a saint to all regardless of church affiliation, full stop.

So if the Maronite Catholic church makes someone a saint, then in the Roman or Romanian Catholic churches recognize him? It sounds like this would be true from what you are saying. This is what I was confused on. I would have to spend a while finding that particular bit that I read. (It was one some random forum somewhere that came up in a google search.)

 

[Filii_Dei]

So if the Maronite Catholic church makes someone a saint, then in the Roman or Romanian Catholic churches recognize him? It sounds like this would be true from what you are saying. This is what I was confused on. I would have to spend a while finding that particular bit that I read. (It was one some random forum somewhere that came up in a google search.)

Yes, that is technically correct. The Eastern Catholic Churches have the formal right to canonise saints themselves, and if they do so, they will be recognised by all Churches within the Catholic Church, because this is considered to be part of the common deposit of faith that makes up part of the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. The recognition of saints is considered to be part of the Universal Magisterium of the Church, so it is binding upon all Catholics to believe that a saint that has been canonised is truly a saint.

However, it is important to realise that from experience, it appears that Eastern Catholic Churches often delegate the process of canonisation to the Holy See, specifically the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who is also exclusively responsible for the canonisation of saints within the Latin Church.

People often misinterpret this to mean that Churches do not have the ability to canonise their own saints. However, the CCS does not have exclusive rights over the canonisation process within the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Eastern Catholic Churches still retain that right. However, the reason why they still route it through the CCS is to ensure that any saint that is canonised will be immediately and definitively recognised throughout the Catholic Church without any cause for doubt. After all, if the central authority declares it so, no Latin Catholic can dispute it, and it also has an added bonus of exposing us ignorant Latin Catholics to the holy men and women of our Eastern brethren.

I hope this helps.

 

[LilyM]

So if the Maronite Catholic church makes someone a saint, then in the Roman or Romanian Catholic churches recognize him? It sounds like this would be true from what you are saying. This is what I was confused on. I would have to spend a while finding that particular bit that I read. (It was one some random forum somewhere that came up in a google search.)

Yeah. My former Latin parish was in an area with a high Maronite population - in fact the Maronite cathedral was five minutes away.

That Latin church had a lovely stained glass window of the Maronite St Charbel Makhlouf.