How do you get somebody canonized? We asked 2 “postulators”
Explains the Catholic canonization stages—Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint—detailing the formal steps required for each title. Interviews two postulators who describe the evidence needed, the investigative process, and the Vatican’s role in approving a cause. Highlights the diocesan inquiry, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and the importance of documented miracles for beatification and canonization. Emphasizes how verified miracles and thorough documentation are essential for a candidate’s elevation to sainthood.
about 11 hours ago
The Catholic canonization process relies on dedicated “postulators” who gather evidence, verify miracles, and guide causes through diocesan and Roman phases, as illustrated by the experiences of Amanda Zurface and Brian Caulfield working on U.S. causes for sainthood1.
The Church moves a cause forward by first opening it at the diocesan level, then compiling testimonies, historical data, and reports of miracles.
If a miracle is approved by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Pope signs a decree, the candidate may be beatified; a second miracle is required for canonization1.
Postulators act as the chief advocates for a cause.
According to the Sanctorum Mater document, they must be experts in theology, canon law, history, and the Congregation’s procedures1.
Their duties include petitioning for the cause’s opening, coordinating with diocesan officials, identifying witnesses, managing the historical commission, and assisting the episcopal delegate who oversees the tribunal1.
Amanda Zurface became involved with Sister Annella Zervas’s cause in 2020 after a canon lawyer colleague invited her.
She later took on Monsignor Joseph Buh’s cause in 2025 at the request of Bishop Felton of Duluth.
Both causes remain in early stages: Annella is a Servant of God, still in the diocesan phase; Buh’s cause is in the consultative stage, awaiting a nihil obstat from Rome and USCCB input1.
Brian Caulfield, a journalist with a master’s in Catholic dogma, serves as vice‑postulator for McGivney.
After McGivney was declared Venerable, Caulfield oversaw the verification of a miraculous healing of a child in utero in Tennessee.
The Rome‑based Congregation approved the miracle, Pope Francis signed the decree, and McGivney was beatified in 2020 despite the pandemic.
Caulfield now reviews new favor requests, gathers medical records, and conducts interviews to identify potential second miracles for canonization1.
Both postulators describe their work as spiritually enriching.
Caulfield says the process deepened his respect for canon law and expanded his love for the Church’s sacraments.
Zurface notes the privilege of highlighting ordinary people living extraordinary, holy lives and sees the causes as a way to witness contemporary examples of Christian discipleship1.
Describe the canonical process for elevating a candidate to sainthood
The Church’s “canonization” process is a juridical cause in which the facts of a servant of God’s life, death, and (where required) miracles are examined, objections are formally raised, and—if the Pope judges the evidence sufficient—the Church permits or commands public veneration (beatification) and, ultimately, universal veneration (canonization).
The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints is the Roman dicastery that, according to its procedure, “treats all that pertains to causes of beatification and canonization.”
Within the earlier legislation of the Roman Curia, Pastor Bonus similarly describes that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints “deals with everything which, according to the established way, leads to the canonization of the servants of God.”
The cause is initiated by a petitioner (i.e., someone who advances the cause): “Any member of the People of God or any group of the faithful recognized by ecclesiastical authority” may do so.
The petitioner must proceed through a legitimately appointed postulator: “The petitioner handles the cause through a legitimately appointed postulator.”
According to Sanctorum Mater (on diocesan inquiries), the cause of beatification and canonization concerns a Catholic who:
The person whose cause has been initiated is called a “Servant of God.”
A key element of the process is that evidence is gathered in a local process before being brought to Rome. In the account of the procedure summarized in the provided sources, there are “judicial inquiries” instituted by local episcopal authority, and these include multiple kinds of processes, such as:
A crucial juridical feature is that the cause is not examined only “for” it; objections must also be raised.
The Promoter of the Faith (historically the Advocatus Diaboli) has the duty to “prepare in writing all possible arguments…against the raising of any one to the honours of the altar.”
The same source stresses that “No important act in the process of beatification or canonization is valid unless performed in the presence of the Promoter of the Faith formally recognized,” and that his role includes insisting on objections and omissions.
After diocesan evidence is sent to Rome, the provided sources describe a series of stages in which the Congregation pronounces verdicts on, among other things:
In that staged progression, once the Congregation has given a favorable decision regarding the heroic character of the virtues, “the candidate is entitled to be called ‘Venerable.’”
The provided sources also distinguish what beatification and canonization mean, especially in terms of the scope of permitted or commanded veneration:
The provided sources state the practical difference clearly:
“In the Canonization of a Saint (1) the accounts of the person’s holy life, heroic virtue, and miracles are collected and sent to the Holy See; (2) those accounts are examined by the Holy Father or his cardinals, and, if found to be true and sufficient, (3) the Saint is Canonized or perhaps only beatified.”
They also explain that the Pope issues the decisive act (e.g., a “Bull of Canonization”) that commands public veneration in the Church’s universal worship.
Two provided catechetical points are relevant to how the Church understands the certainty of the outcome:
The Catholic Encyclopedia excerpt provided notes that the procedure differs “not entirely” between:
That same excerpt then focuses on the regular procedure for beatifying confessors as an example of how inquiries, objections, and verdicts operate.
In the canonical process described in the provided Catholic sources, sainthood is not declared by sentiment or popularity: a cause is petitioned and handled by a postulator, evidence is gathered in diocesan inquiries, the Promoter of the Faith raises objections in a formal juridical role, and the Roman Dicastery/Congregation examines whether the candidate has a proven reputation of holiness or martyrdom, whether virtues are heroic, and whether (where required) miracles have the needed character.
If you want, you can tell me whether you want the process described mainly for martyrial causes or for confessors/virgins—the sources you have emphasize that the method is “not entirely identical.”