The Celebration of Saints on the Universal Calendar

[sempermom]

How does the Catholic Church decide which Saints will be celebrated on the Universal Calendar?
In Christ,
Sempermom

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

How does the Catholic Church decide which Saints will be celebrated on the Universal Calendar?
In Christ,
Sempermom

Saints that have more than just local or regional recognition are considered for the Universal Calendar.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

It is also sometimes a matter of space. As saints continue to be added to the roll, a saint who was once well-known but is now relatively obscure might give way to a more recent and better-known saint.

 

[chicago]

We have Solemnities which are major celebrations, memorials, optional memorials. Some saints may not get commemorated as much as they just aren’t that popular, with their feasts being only optional memorials.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Pope Benedict XVI recently announced stricter norms because the calendar is getting full. See article: catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702730.htm

 

[Swiss_Guard]

The Church gives the primo dates to the best saints.

 

[chicago]

The Church gives the primo dates to the best saints.

It’s not quite that simple. Typically, a saint’s feast day is related to the day upon which s/he died. (Their birth into heaven). A problem arises if there are a lot of saints whose dates are on that day. Another difficulty arises with the sheer number of saints which exist who can potentially be on the universal calendar. So it is likely the saints who have the largest patronage of devotion or those who the Church desires to emphasize for some reason which will be given prioity of status as to their placement on the calendar and the significance of their feast.