FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions About Saints & the eCatholicHub Saint Database
Why do we believe in the Communion of Saints?
What is a saint?
- A saint is a person officially recognized by the Catholic Church as being in heaven.
What is the difference between a Saint and a Blessed?
- Sainthood is a higher honor than beatification. Saints who have been canonized have had two miracles attributed to them, while blesseds only have had one.
What is a martyr?
- A martyr is a person killed for the sake of Christ. A martyr can be a blessed or a saint.
How many saints are there?
- Right now, the eCatholicHub database has 6,882 entries for saints and blesseds. Some entries are groups of martyrs, so their numbers are not fairly represented by our total. Some saints are listed twice in the database but as time goes on, we'll hone in on the number better. Also, the Pope continues to add new saints and blesseds, so the number will grow.
Where did you get all this information?
- Our database is based on the Roman Martyrology, the official list of Catholic saints and blesseds. The most recent edition was published in 2004, but only in Latin. We've built our database around it and we've added saints and blessed who have been added since 2004.
- Most of the biographical information came from Fr. Alban Butler's monumental "Lives of the Saints." Some information comes from the Vatican website, vatican.va.
What is the Roman Martyrology?
- The Roman Martyrology is the official listed of saints and blesseds. For each day, 10-20 saints and blesseds are listed with a little paragraph of information about their lives. These entries can be read aloud in a liturgical setting. The Roman Martyrology is often updated with new saints and blesseds, but is currently in print only in Latin. In ancient times, various martyrologies were kept by local churches, but now the Roman Martyrology is the definitive list. Recent editions were published in 2004, 2001, 1956 and 1914.
- You can buy a copy of the Roman Martyrology for about $150 from the Vatican Bookstore, paxbook.com.
What is the process for a person to become a saint?
- 1. Opening the Cause - Based on requests from the faithful, the Vatican opens an investigation into a person's life and thus their "cause" for canonization.
- 2. Declaration of Heroic Virtue - After the initial investigation, the Pope declares the person to have lived a life of "heroic virtue." From this time on the person is called by the title "Venerable" or "Servant of God."
- 3. Beatification - If the investigation finds that a miracle has happened due to the person's intercession, the Pope "beatifies" the person. Beatification, also known as "being raised to the altars," takes place in an official ceremony at Mass celebrated by the Pope or a designated bishop. The person is called "Blessed" from this time on.
- 4. Canonization - If the investigation finds a second miracle attributable to the person's intercession, the Pope "canonizes" the person thus making him or her a saint.
Have saints always gone through this process?
- No. In fact the process of canonization was not established until 1173 when Pope Alexander III decreed it. This decree was followed by a more explicit directive under Pope Urban VII in 1634. Before these decrees, saints were often celebrated by popular devotion by lay people and recognized by local bishops. Now the Pope has the exclusive prerogative to recognize saints and blesseds.
What about saints' feast days?
- Every saint and blessed is remembered on a specific day, but only certain saints' days are on the Roman Calendar. The Roman Calendar decrees which saint days the whole church celebrates. Individual countries and religious orders have their own calendars which include saints special to the region or order which are not celebrated by the Church Universal. For example, the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is celebrated only in the United States. The saints and blesseds who are not on the Calendar are still remembered in the Martyrology for the day which can be read in a liturgical ceremony.
Why is my favorite saint's name spelled wrong?
- The Roman Martyrology translates saints' names from every language into Latin. Rather than list every saint's name with the spelling of his or her home country, we translated all the names from Latin into English. So, for example "Iosephus" became "Joseph" and "Maria" became "Mary." While this may be a little confusing for saints commonly known by their non-English names, like St. "Therese," the uniformity in translating names will be helpful to sorting saints by their first names. We are including a table of first names in various languages to help you track down the saint you are looking for. (See "Saint Names" link at the top.)
Why can't I find the locations of certain saints and martyrs?
- Many saints were martyred in ancient times and ancient places, places which no longer exist as political entities. We have done our best to give you locations that you can find on a regular world map, but so many saints were martyred in the ancient Roman Empire that you may need a map of Roman provinces. Try this Map of Ancient Rome.
