All Topics  
Beatification

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Beatification
 
 
  Topics Beatification Topic Home

Beatification (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 beatus, blessed, via Greek µa??????, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic church of a dead person's accession to Heaven
Heaven

Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the atmosphere or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English, however since at least AD 1000, it is typically also used to refer to an afterlife plane of existence in various religions and spirituality philosophy, often descri...
 and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name (intercession of saints
Intercession of saints

Intercession of the saints is a Christianity doctrine common to the vast majority of the world's Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and a number of Reformed Christian communities....
).






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Beatification'
Start a new discussion about 'Beatification'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Johannespaulii
Beatification (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 beatus, blessed, via Greek µa??????, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic church of a dead person's accession to Heaven
Heaven

Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the atmosphere or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English, however since at least AD 1000, it is typically also used to refer to an afterlife plane of existence in various religions and spirituality philosophy, often descri...
 and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name (intercession of saints
Intercession of saints

Intercession of the saints is a Christianity doctrine common to the vast majority of the world's Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and a number of Reformed Christian communities....
). Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization
Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints....
 process. A person who is beatified is given the title "Blessed".

History

The word "beatification" probably came in use after the fourth century when it was introduced in the church at Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
, but the idea is older. In earlier ages this honor was entirely local and passed from one diocese
Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
 to another with the permission of their bishop
Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
s. This is clear from the fact that early Christian cemeteries contain paintings only of local martyrs. Some beatifications by bishops in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 were almost scandalous by modern standards. For instance, Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
 was beatified by a court bishop soon after his death. He was never canonized, and his veneration has been mostly suppressed, though permission is given to celebrate Mass in his honor in the cities of Aachen
Aachen

is a historic spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the westernmost city of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km west of Cologne....
 and Osnabrück
Osnabrück

Osnabr?ck is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of M?nster, and some 100 km due west of Hannover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehengebirge and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest....
, but without using the title of "Blessed".

Since the Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)

Canon Law, the ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation....
 reform of 1983, one miracle
Miracle

File:Folio 171r - The Raising of Lazarus.jpgA miracle is a sensibly perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can only be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker....
 must be proven to have taken place through the intercession of the person to be beatified, though this requirement is waived for those who died a martyr. More about the process can be found in the article on canonization
Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints....
.

The feast day for the Blessed person is not universal, but is celebrated only in regions where the person receives particular veneration
Veneration

In Christianity, veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion....
. For instance, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is honored in the United States of America and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. The person may also be honored in a particular religious order. For instance, veneration of John Duns Scotus is found in the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, and among the Franciscan
Franciscan

The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St....
s, among other places.

Beatification practices under the Popes

Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
 (16 October 1978 — 2 April 2005) markedly changed previous Catholic practice of beatification. By October 2004 he had beatified 1,340 people, more than the sum of all of his predecessors since Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590....
 (d. 1590), who established a beatification procedure similar to that used today. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI is the List of popes and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, monarch of the Vatican City....
, removed the custom of holding beatification rites in the Vatican
Vatican City

Vatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a Landlocked country sovereignty city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the Capital of Italy....
 with the Pope presiding; they can now be held in the location where the subject lived with a Cardinal designated to preside over the ceremony.

Cultus confirmation

Cultus confirmation is a somewhat different procedure, where the church recognizes a local cult of a person, asserting that veneration of that person is acceptable. Such a confirmation is more of an official sanctioning of folk Christianity
Folk Christianity

Folk Christianity is composed of Christian ideas and practices outside the approval or authority of a religious establishment?Roman Catholic, Protestant, or other....
 than an active step in a canonization procedure, but the object of the cult may equally be addressed as "Blessed".

See also

  • List of blesseds
    List of blesseds

    Beatification is a recognition by the Catholic church of a dead person's accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name....


External links

  • by Giga-Catholic Information.