When Msgr. Jason Gray of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, worked for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints — which oversees the canonization process — it was often said that the process was the most democratic in the Church.
“It has to come from the people,” Msgr. Gray said in a “Practicing Catholic” episode set to air at 9 p.m. Sept. 17 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “It has to come from below. It has to come from the spontaneous desire of the faithful to hold a particular person in high regard and think that they are a model of holiness.”
Msgr. Jason Gray
The canonization process can start from one person, he said, but more often it starts from a group of people who share a common opinion of someone, giving the example of Mother Teresa.
“Everyone really revered her, even before the Church pronounced her as a saint,” he said. “Many people privately held the opinion that she was really worthy of honor.”
In an interview with “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley, Msgr. Gray described the process for sainthood. Many people think of a saint as “someone who’s in heaven,” Msgr. Gray said. But, he said, that’s an entry-level understanding.
“When we get into the details and get a little more technical, we talk about someone the Church holds up as worthy of imitation, someone that we should honor and revere, someone we bring into the liturgy,” and someone Catholics pray to for their intercession, he said.
The faithful call upon saints in private prayers, ask for their help and guidance, invoke their name at Mass, name churches in their honor, and honor their relics and altars, Msgr. Gray said. That’s why the Church uses high standards to make sure a person named a saint is someone who excelled, truly is exemplary in living the Christian life, worthy to honor in prayer, and their life serves as an example for imitation, he said.
The local bishop opens a cause for canonization and begins the process of appointing people to conduct an investigation, Msgr. Gray said. Officials take testimony and talk to people who knew the person — especially people with firsthand knowledge, he said.
“It’s a tremendous effort,” Msgr. Gray said. “A lot of witnesses, a lot of questions, a lot of documents.” No stone is left unturned, he said.
A “devil’s advocate” called “the promoter of justice” also plays a role. “His job is really to test the case,” Msgr. Gray explained.
“Everyone’s going to say wonderful things about a particular person who they honor and revere, but someone’s got to test that to see, well, what about not just during the good times?” he said. “Every aspect of the case has to be challenged.”
During the interview, Conley asked about the sinful parts of some canonized saints’ lives before they might have had a conversion, and how that plays a role during the investigation. Msgr. Gray called that “an excellent point.” To learn his response and hear the full interview, listen to this episode of this “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It also at 1 p.m. Sept 18 and 2 p.m. Sept. 19.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Amy and Tim Lemke, who discuss making a good marriage great through Worldwide Marriage Encounter, and Will Jude from Reiser Relief, who gives a firsthand report of the devastating impact of a recent earthquake and tropical storm in Haiti, and what the faithful can do to help.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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