Dorian Llywelyn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
From the earliest years of Christianity, some people have been recognised as having lived exceptionally holy lives.
Pope Francis presides over a special prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on March 25, 2022, before heading out to Malta for a two-day visit.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File
Malta’s St. George Preca was canonized in 2007. Pope Francis’ visit to Malta renewed attention on Preca’s life and work and how it could provide guidance for the welfare of refugees.
Pope John Paul I, who was pope for about a month before his death, has moved one step closer to sainthood.
AP Photo/Claudio Luffoli
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?
Army chaplain Emil Kapaun helps a soldier on the battlefield during the Korean War in 1952.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
In early Christianity, soldiers could be baptized only if they refused to kill other human beings. While this changed over the years, tensions linger over Christian goals.
Saint James the Lesser is believed to have been martyred in AD 70.
Wikicommons
It was only in the 19th century the West became aware of Buddhism as a religion in its own right – but the Buddha had been a Christian saint for centuries.
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.
Pope Francis at the end of a canonization ceremony for Mother Teresa.
Alessandra Tarantino/AP