Beatification (fromLatinbeatus, "blessed" andfacere, "to make") is a recognition accorded by theCatholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity tointercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name.Beati is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" (/ˈblɛsɪd/) (abbreviation "Bl.") before their names and are often referred to in English as "a Blessed" or, plurally, "Blesseds".[1]
Since the reforms of 1983, as a rule, (for non-martyred Venerables) onemiracle must be confirmed to have taken place through the intercession of the person to be beatified. Miracles are almost always unexplainable medical healings, and are scientifically investigated by commissions comprisingphysicians andtheologians.[4][5][6]
The requirement of a miracle for beatification is waived in the case of someone whosemartyrdom is formally declared by the church.[7]
The blessed, elected by popular acclamation (the vox populi) enjoyed only local veneration. While the procedure ofcanonization was taken in hand from thetwelfth century by the papacy in Rome, that of beatification continued on a local scale until thethirteenth century before settling at theCouncil of Trent, which reserved to the pope the right to say who could be venerated.[8]
Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) markedly changed the previous Catholic practice of beatification. By October 2004, he had beatified 1,340 people, more than the sum of all of his predecessors sincePope Sixtus V (1585–1590), who established a beatification procedure similar to that used today.[citation needed]
^A. De Meester,Juris Canonici et Juris Canonico-Civilis Compendium Nova Editio, Tomus Tertius, Pars Secunda (Brugis: Desclée de Brouwer et Sii, 1928) p. 86 (citing the canonistPope Benedict XIV,De Servorum Dei Beatificatione et Beatorum Canonizatione)
^Beccari, Camillo (1907). "Beatification and Canonization."The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company. ViaNew Advent. newadvent.org. Accessed 1 November 2015.
De Meester, A., J.C.D.,Juris Canonici et Juris Canonico-Civilis Compendium Nova Editio, Tomus Tertius, Pars Secunda (Brugis: Desclée de Brouwer et Sii, 1928)
Saunders, Rev. William (2003). "The Process of Becoming a Saint". Reprinted fromArlington Catholic Herald. Via Catholic Education Resource Center. catholiceducation.org.
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