Canonization
Canonization does not make someone holy. It is the Church's formal recognition that a person lived and died in heroic fidelity to Christ and may be publicly venerated.
Saints & Devotions
Catholic ResourcesCatholic Saints & Devotions
Holiness, prayer, feast days, and sacred memory.
Study saints through Christ, the Church, liturgy, and the call to holiness.Apostolic and pre-schism
Shared Ancient Saints
Many early saints are honored across Catholic and Orthodox traditions because they belong to the shared ancient Church before later divisions hardened.Mary, Mother of GodPeter and PaulIgnatius of AntiochPolycarp
West and global Catholic Church
Catholic Canonized Saints
Catholic canonization is normally a formal act of the Church that recognizes a person as a saint for public veneration throughout the Church.AugustineBenedictFrancis of AssisiThomas Aquinas
Feasts, patrons, and popular devotion
Local And Devotional Saints
Some saints have universal feasts, while others are especially loved in particular countries, religious orders, cities, or devotional traditions.Patron saintsMartyrsDoctors of the ChurchMissionary saints
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Marian Devotion
Catholic devotion to Mary is rooted in Christology: Mary is honored because of her role in the incarnation and her witness of obedient faith.
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Rosary
The rosary is a biblical and contemplative prayer centered on the mysteries of Christ's life, death, and resurrection.
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Relics And Holy Memory
Catholic veneration of relics is tied to belief in the resurrection, the holiness of the body, and God's work through the saints.
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Feast Days
The liturgical calendar teaches the faith through the life of Christ, Mary, martyrs, apostles, pastors, virgins, and holy men and women.
Veneration And Worship
Catholic teaching distinguishes worship owed to God alone from the honor given to saints. Saints are honored as God's work in human lives, not as rivals to Christ.
Intercession
Prayer with the saints is understood as communion in Christ: the living and departed members of the Body of Christ pray before God.
Catholic And Orthodox Difference
Catholic canonization is normally centralized through papal recognition. Orthodox glorification is more often received through local and synodal life, liturgy, icons, and feast days.