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]
It is third stage of the ordinary process ofofficial recognitions for Catholic saints: Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, Saint,Doctor.
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 comprising physicians and theologians.[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]
Thefeast day for a beatified person is not universal, but is celebrated only by territories, religious institutes, or communities in which the person receives particularveneration. For instance,Kateri Tekakwitha was especially honored in the United States and Canada during her time as Blessed.John Duns Scotus was honored among theFranciscans, in theArchdiocese of Cologne and other places. Similarly, veneration ofChiara Badano is particular to theFocolare movement.[citation needed]
The blessed, elected by popular acclamation (the vox populi) enjoyed only local veneration. While the procedure of canonization was taken in hand from the twelfth century by the papacy in Rome, that of beatification continued on a local scale until the thirteenth century before settling at the Council 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]
John Paul II's successor,Pope Benedict XVI (2005–2013), personally celebrated the Beatification Mass for his predecessor atSt. Peter's Basilica, on the Second Sunday of Easter, orDivine Mercy Sunday, on 1 May 2011, an event that drew more than one million people.
^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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