The Process of Canonization

In 993, Pope John XV elevated Uric of Augsburg formally and universally as we do today to the level of Saint. Before that time, local bishops would decide which candidates would have honorable mention and feast days. Originally, only martyrs were honored and "recommended" to the public.

Pope Alexander III in the 12th century was the first pope to restrict the prerogative of canonization to the Holy See. In 1983 the process was modified, with one of the changes being to reduce the process to ten years. The person must have died at least five years prior to the beginning of the process.

The levels in the process are Venerable, Blessed, and Saint.

Venerable - The congregation researches the candidate's virtues to verify if the person practiced virtue to a heroic degree, or died a martyr's death, and either does or does not recommend their cause. When the pope accepts the report, the candidate in termed "Venerable."

Blessed - The second (apostolic) process continues the first. Now is a very lengthy process of scrutiny over the person's life, virtues, writings and reputation for holiness. Customarily one miracle must be credited to the candidate's intercession with God. The venerable candidate would then be "beatified" by the pope at a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica.

Saint - Canonization means being "raised to the full honors of the altar." A second miracle, after beatification is required. In the ceremonies, the name of the saint is mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass, and is usually accorded triduum, often in another church in Rome.

Beatification allows veneration, canonization requires it. The beatified are recommended to a city/region or religious order for veneration, the Canonized are recommended to the whole Church.

Liturgy Codes

• S - Solemnity - Liturgies celebrating events, beliefs, and personages of greatest importance and universal significance in salvation history.
• F - Feast - Liturgies of lesser significance.
• M - Obligatory Memorial - Liturgies of the next to least significance.
• m - Optional Memorial - Liturgies significant only to local country, church or religious community.

Profession Codes

• aa - Archangel - Chief angels, messenger from God in significant matters
• ab - Abbot - Monastic superior
• ap - Apostle - Twelve who followed Christ
• b - Bishop - Pastor of a diocese
• ca - Catechist
• d - Doctor of the Church - Author of eminent holiness
• de - Deacon - Ordained clergy of the first rank
• di - Disciple of the Lord
• e - Evangelist
• fm - First Martyr
• m - Missionary
• mm - Married Man
• mw - Married Woman
• oc - Celebrated under the old liturgical calendar
• ph - Physicians
• po - Pope - Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome
• pr - Presbyter - Presider in the community
• r - Religious
• rf - Religious founder
• ru - Ruler
• v - Virgin

Prayers for any Saints Day from Catholic Dispatch

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the examples of Saint _______ may effectually move us to reform our lives; that while we celebrate his festival, we may also imitate his actions. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Look upon our weakness, almighty God, and since the burden of our own deeds weighs heavily upon us, may the glorious intercession of Saint _______ protect us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Liturgical Calendar

Beginning of the Church Year - 1st Sunday of Advent/ Sunday Closest to Nov. 30th Dec + Jan + Feb + Mar + Apr + May + Jun + Jul + Aug + Sep + Oct + Nov
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
11/30 - F	ST. ANDREW	ap

December
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
12/03 - M	St. Francis Xavier	pr
12/04 - m	St. John Damascene	pr/d
12/06 - m	St. Nicholas of Myra	b
12/07 - M	St. Ambrose	b/d
12/08 - S	Immaculate Conception - Holy Day of Obligation
12/09 - m	St. Juan Diego	Cuat
12/11 - m	St. Damasus I	po
12/12 - F	Our Lady of Guadalupe
12/13 - M	ST. LUCY	v
12/14 - M	St. John of the Cross	pr/d
12/21 - m	St. Peter Canisius	pr/d
12/23 - m	St. John of Kanty	pr
12/25 - S	Birth of the Lord - Holy Day of Obligation
12/26 - F	ST. STEPHEN	fm
12/27 - F	St. John the Evangelist	ap/e
12/28 - F	HOLY INNOCENTS
12/29 - m	ST. THOMAS BECKET	b
12/30 - F	Holy Family
12/31 - m	St. Sylvester I	po

January
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
01/01 - S	St. Mary, Mother of God - Holy Day of Obligation
Movable - S	Epiphany of the Lord - Sunday between 01/02 & 01/08
01/02 - M	St. Basil the Great & St. Gregory Nasianzen	b/d
01/04 - M	St. Elizabeth Ann Seton	mw/rf
01/05 - M	St. John Neumann	b
01/06 - m	Blessed André Bessette	r
01/07 - m	St. Raymond of Penyafort	pr
Movable - F	Baptism of the Lord - Sunday after Epiphany
01/13 - m	St. Hilary of Poitiers	b/d
01/17 - M	St. Anthony	ab
01/20 - m	ST. FABIAN	po
01/20 - m	ST. SEBASTIAN
01/21 - M	ST. AGNES	v
01/22 - m	ST. VINCENT	de
01/24 - M	St. Francis de Sales	b/d
01/25 - F	Conversion of Paul	ap
01/26 - M	SS. Timothy & Titus	b
01/27 - m	St. Angela Merici	v/rf
01/28 - M	St. Thomas Aquinas	pr/d
01/31 - M	St. John Bosco	pr/rf

February
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
02/02 - F	Presentation of the Lord
02/03 - m	ST. BLAISE	b
02/03 - m	St. Ansgar	b
Movable	Ash Wednesday - between 02/04 & 03/10 Wednesday before the sixth Sunday before Easter
02/05 - M	ST. AGATHA	v
02/06 - M	ST. PAUL MIKI &COMPANIONS	r
02/08 - m	Jerome Emiliani	rf
02/10 - M	St. Scholastica	v
02/11 - m	Our Lady of Lourdes
02/14 - M	St. Cyril	r/m
02/14 - M	St. Methodius	b/m
02/17 - m	Seven Founders of the Order of Servites	r
02/21 - m	St. Peter Damian	b/d
02/22 - F	Chair of Peter	ap
02/23 - M	ST. POLYCARP	b

March
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
03/03 - m	Bl. Katherine Drexel	v
03/04 - m	St. Casimir
03/07 - m	SS. PERPETUA & FELICITY
03/08 - m	St. John of God	rf
03/09 - m	St. Frances of Rome	mw
Movable	Passion (Palm) Sunday - Sunday between 03/15 & 04/18 Sunday before Easter
03/17 - m	St. Patrick	b
03/18 - m	St. Cyril of Jerusalem	b/d
03/19 - S	St. Joseph, Husband of Mary
Movable	Holy Thursday - Thursday before Easter Morning - Chrism Mass / Evening - Mass of the Lord's Supper
Movable	Good Friday - Friday before Easter - Celebration of the Lord's Passion
Movable	Holy Saturday - Saturday before Easter - Evening - Easter Vigil
Movable	Easter - Sunday between 03/22 & 04/25 First Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox on 03/21
03/23 - m	Toribius de Mongrovejo	b
03/25 - S	Annunciation of the Lord

April
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
04/02 - m	St. Francis of Paola	rf
04/04 - m	St. Isidore of Seville	b/d
04/05 - m	St. Vincent Ferrer	pr
04/07 - m	St. John Baptist de la Salle	pr
04/11 - M	St. STANISLAUS	b
04/13 - m	Pope St. Martin I	po
04/21 - m	St. Anselm	b/d
04/23 - m	ST. GEORGE
04/23 - m	ST. ADALBERT	b
04/24 - m	ST. FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN	pr
04/25 - F	ST. MARK	e
04/28 - m	ST. PETER CHANEL	pr
04/28 - m	St. Louis de Montfort	pr
04/29 - M	St. Catherine of Siena	v/d
Movable	Ascension of the Lord - Thursday between 04/30 & 06/03 40 days after Easter (Thursday after the sixth Sunday of Easter)
04/30 - m	St. Pius V	po

May
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
05/01 - m	St. Joseph the Worker
05/02 - M	St. Athanasius	b/d
05/03 - F	SS. PHILIP & JAMES	ap
Movable	Pentecost - Sunday between 05/10 & 06/13 50 days after Easter (eighth day after the Ascension)
05/12 - m	SS. NEREUS & ACHILLEUS
05/12 - m	ST. PANCRAS
05/14 - F	ST. MATTHIAS	ap
05/15 - m	St. Isidore the Farmer	mm
Movable	Trinity Sunday - Sunday between 05/17 & 06/20 Sunday after Pentecost
05/18 - m	ST. JOHN I	po
05/20 - m	St. Bernardine of Siena	pr
05/21 - m	St. CHRISTOPHER MAGALLANES and Companions	pr
Movable	The Body and Blood of Christ - Sunday between 05/24 & 06/27 2nd Sunday after Penticost
05/25 - m	St. Bede	pr/d
05/25 - m	Pope St. Gregory VII	po
05/25 - m	St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi	v
05/26 - M	St. Philip Neri	pr
05/27 - m	St. Augustine of Cantebury	b
05/31 - F	The Visit of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth

June
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
06/01 - M	ST. JUSTIN
06/02 - m	SS. MARCELLINUS & PETER
06/03 - M	ST. CHARLES LWANGA & HIS COMPANIONS
Movable	The Sacred Heart of Jesus - Friday between 06/05 & 07/09 Friday after The Body and Blood of Christ
06/05 - M	ST. BONIFACE	b
Movable	The Immaculate Heart of Mary - Saturday between 06/06 & 07/10 Saturday after The Body and Blood of Christ
06/06 - m	St. Norbert	b
06/09 - m	St. Ephrem of Syria	de
06/11 - M	ST. BARNABAS	ap
06/13 - M	St. Anthony of Padua	pr/d
06/19 - m	St. Romuald	ab/rf
06/21 - M	St. Aloysius Gonzaga	r
06/22 - m	St. Paulinus of Nola	b
06/22 - m	ST. JOHN FISHER	b
06/22 - m	ST. THOMAS MOORE	mm
06/24 - S	The Birth of John the Baptist
06/27 - m	St. Cyril of Alexandria	b/d
06/28 - M	ST. IRENAEUS	b
06/29 - S	SS. PETER & PAUL	ap
06/30 - m	FIRST MARTYRS OF CHURCH OF ROME

July
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
07/01 - m	St. Junipero Serra	pr
07/03 - F	ST. THOMAS	ap
07/04 - m	St. Elizabeth of Portugal	mw
07/05 - m	St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria	pr
07/06 - m	ST. MARIA GORETTI	v
07/11 - M	St. Benedict	ab/rf
07/13 - m	St. Henry	mm/ru
07/14 - M	Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha	v
07/15 - M	St. Bonaventure	b/d
07/16 - m	Our Lady of Mount Carmel
07/21 - m	St. Lawrence of Brindisi	pr/d
07/22 - M	St. Mary Magdalene	di
07/23 - m	St. Bridget of Sweden	r
07/25 - F	ST. JAMES	ap
07/26 - M	SS. Joachim & Ann Parents of Mary
07/29 - M	St. Martha	di
07/30 - m	St. Peter Chrysologus	b/d
07/31 - M	St. Ignatius of Loyola	pr/rf

August
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
08/01 - M	St. Alphonsus Liguori	b/d
08/02 - m	St. Eusebius of Vercelli	b
08/02 - m	St. Peter Julian Eymard	p/rf
08/04 - M	St. John Mary Vianney	pr
08/05 - m	Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
08/06 - F	Transfiguration of the Lord
08/07 - m	ST. SIXTUS II & COMPANIONS	po
08/07 - m	St. Cajetan	pr/rf
08/08 - M	St. Dominic	pr/rf
08/10 - F	ST. LAWRENCE	de
08/11 - M	St. Clare of Assisi	v/rf
08/13 - m	ST. PONTIAN	po
08/13 - m	ST. HIPPOLYTUS	pr
08/14 - M	ST. MAXIMILIAN MARY KOLBE	pr
08/15 - S	Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven - Holy Day of Obligation
08/16 - m	St. Stephen of Hungary	mm
08/18 - m	St. Jane Frances de Chantal	mw/rf
08/19 - m	St. John Eudes	pr/rf
08/20 - M	St. John Bernard of Clairvaux	ab/d
08/21 - M	St. Pius X	po
08/22 - M	Queenship of the Virgin Mary
08/23 - m	St. Rose of Lima	v
08/24 - F	ST. BARTHOLOMEW	ap
08/25 - m	St. Louis of France	mm
08/25 - m	St. Joseph Calasanz	pr
08/27 - M	St. Monica (Mother of St. Augustine)	mw
08/28 - M	St. Augustine	b/d
08/29 - M	MARTYRDOM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

September
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
09/03 - M	St. Gregory the Great	po/d
09/08 - F	Birth of the Virgin Mary
09/09 - M	St. Peter Claver	pr
09/13 - M	St. John Chrysostom	b/d
09/14 - F	The Holy Cross
09/15 - M	Our Lady of Sorrows
09/16 - M	ST. CORNELIUS	po
09/16 - M	ST. CYPRIAN	b
09/17 - m	St. Robert Bellarmine	b/d
09/19 - m	ST. JANUARIUS	b
09/20 - M	ST. ANDREW KIM of TAEGÕN	pr
09/20 - M	ST. PAUL CHÕNG of HASANG & COMPANIONS	ca
09/21 - F	ST. MATTHEW	ap/e
09/26 - m	SS. COSMAS & DAMIAN
09/27 - M	St. Vincent de Paul	pr
09/28 - m	ST. WENCESLAUS
09/28 - m	ST. LAWRENCE RUIZ & COMPANIONS	mm
09/29 - F	SS. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael	aa
09/30 - M	St. Jerome	pr/d

October
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
10/01 - M	Thérèse of the Child Jesus	v
10/02 - M	Holy Guardian Angles
10/04 - M	St. Francis of Assisi	rf
10/06 - m	St. Bruno	pr/rf
10/06 - m	Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher	v/rf
10/07 - M	Our Lady of the Rosary
10/09 - m	ST. DENIS & COMPANIONS	b
10/09 - m	St. John Leonardi	pr/rf
10/14 - m	ST. CALLISTUS I	po
10/15 - M	St. Teresa of Avila	v/d
10/16 - m	St. Hedwig	mw/r
10/16 - m	St. Margaret Mary Alacoque	v/r
10/17 - M	ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH	b
10/18 - F	ST. LUKE	e
10/19 - M	SS. ISAAC JOGUES, JOHN DE BRÉBEUF & COMPANIONS
10/20 - m	St. Paul of the Cross	pr/rf
10/23 - m	St. John of Capistrano	pr/rf
10/24 - m	St. Anthony Mary Claret	b/rf
10/28 - F	SS. SIMON & JUDE	ap

November
Color-Date-Code	Feast or Saint	Profession
11/01 - S	All Saints - Holy Day of Obligation
11/02	All Souls - (Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed)
11/03 - m	St. Martin de Porres	r
11/04 - M	St. Charles Borromeo	b
11/09 - F	Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
11/10 - M	St. Leo the Great	po/d
11/11 - M	St. Martin of Tours	b
11/12 - M	ST. JOSAPHAT	b
11/13 - M	St. Francis Xavier Cabrini	v/rf
11/15 - m	St. Albert the Great	b/d
11/16 - m	St. Margaret of Scotland	mw
11/16 - m	St. Gertrude the Great	v/r
11/17 - M	St. Elizabeth of Hungary	mw/r
11/18 - m	Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter & Paul in Rome
11/18 - m	St. Rose Philippine Duchesne	v/r
Movable	Christ the King - Sunday between 11/20 & 11/26 Sunday before the 1st Sunday in Advent (Last Sunday in Ordinary Time)
11/21 - M	Presentation of the Virgin Mary
11/22 - M	ST. CECELIA	v
11/23 - m	ST. CLEMENT I	po
11/23 - m	St. Columban	ab
11/23 - m	BL. MIGUEL AGUSTIN PRO	pr/r
11/24 - M	ST. ANDREW DUNG-LAC & COMPANIONS	pr