People pray in front of the tomb of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI inside the grottos of St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, on Jan. 8, 2023.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
A specialist in Catholic liturgy and rituals explains that while several popes have been canonized, it is a long process that may take several years to examine and uncover any hidden flaws.
Pope John Paul I greets the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in August 1978.
Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty Images
Dorian Llywelyn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
To qualify as a Catholic ‘saint,’ someone must have two miracles credited to them. But how does the church define a miracle in the first place?
The ceremony for the beatification of Carlo Acutis, an Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia, is held Oct. 10 in front of the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
Italian teenager Carlo Acutis, who died at the age of 15, is on the path to becoming a saint. A scholar explains the long history of child saints in the Catholic Church.
Dorothy Day with publisher Robert Ellsberg.
Jim Forest/Flickr.com
The founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day, led a life full of paradoxes. An expert explains how there’s much to learn from her life - especially how to see beauty in the least.
Oscar Romero’s canonization is controversial. The process stalled in the Vatican for decades.
Jose Cabezas/Reuters
On March 24, 1980, an outspoken Salvadoran bishop was murdered after decrying his country’s military regime. Thirty-eight years and one civil war later, Pope Francis is set to declare him a saint.