The Steps to Sainthood: Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, Saint!
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From Servant of God to Saint: The Steps to Sainthood
On our Holy Pages you will see holy men and women listed with different titles: S.D. (Servant of God), Ven. (Venerable), Bl. (Blessed) and St. (Saint). Each title marks a step in the Church's careful process of recognizing that a person lived a life of heroic holiness and is with God in Heaven.
Every person in Heaven is a saint. Through canonization, the Church declares with certainty that a particular person is in Heaven, may be honored by the whole Church, and is a model and intercessor for the faithful (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 828).
1. Servant of God
A cause for canonization usually begins at least five years after a person's death, so that their reputation for holiness can be tested by time. The pope can waive this wait, as he did for St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. John Paul II.
The bishop of the diocese where the person died opens the cause, once the Holy See (the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints) has said it has no objection. From that moment the person is called a Servant of God. The diocese then gathers testimony from people who knew them and studies their writings.
A Servant of God has no feast day, and the Church does not yet permit public veneration (such as Masses in their honor or their image on an altar). The faithful may still pray privately for their help and for the progress of the cause.
2. Venerable
The findings of the diocese are gathered into a detailed study called a positio. Theologians, and then the cardinals and bishops of the Dicastery, examine it. If they find that the person lived the Christian virtues to a heroic degree, the pope approves a decree, and the person is called Venerable.
A decree may instead recognize martyrdom (being killed out of hatred for the faith), or, since 2017, the offering of one's life out of love, a path added by Pope Francis.
Like a Servant of God, a Venerable has no feast day and no public liturgical veneration yet. Examples on our site include Ven. Pope Pius XII, Ven. Matt Talbot and Ven. Lucia dos Santos.
3. Blessed
For beatification, the Church normally requires one miracle obtained through the person's intercession, almost always a healing that doctors cannot explain. It is studied by a board of medical experts and then by theologians before the pope approves it. A martyr can be beatified without a miracle.
A Blessed may be publicly honored in a particular place: their diocese, their country, or their religious order. They receive a feast day on those local calendars, usually the anniversary of their death (their "birthday into Heaven"). Examples on our site include Bl. Miguel Pro, Bl. Stanley Rother and Bl. Chiara Badano.
4. Saint
For canonization, the Church normally requires a second miracle, one that took place after the beatification. The pope then declares the person a Saint, usually at a Mass in Rome.
A saint may be honored by the whole Church. Churches can be dedicated to them, and their feast may be placed on the universal calendar or on national and local calendars. Recent examples on our site include St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, canonized together in 2025, and St. José Sánchez del Río, the boy martyr of the Cristero War.
Other things you may see
- Saints from before the formal process. For the Church's first thousand years, saints were recognized by the faith of the people and the approval of their bishops, often at the tomb of a martyr. Canonization was reserved to the pope from the 13th century, and the modern process dates from 1588. Many of the best-loved saints, including the Apostles and the early martyrs, were never formally canonized but are fully recognized saints (we note this as "Pre-Congregation").
- Equivalent canonization. The pope can extend to the whole Church the long-standing veneration of a holy person without the usual process and miracles, as Pope Benedict XVI did for St. Hildegard of Bingen in 2012.
- Martyr. A person who gave their life for Christ. Martyrdom is recognized by decree and replaces the miracle needed for beatification.
- Doctor of the Church. A title given by the pope to a saint whose teaching has greatly served the whole Church, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Ávila.
- The angels. St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael are named in Sacred Scripture and honored as saints by ancient tradition, without any canonization. Your guardian angel is honored on October 2.
- Titles of Our Lady. Names like Our Lady of Guadalupe or Our Lady of Knock are not separate saints. They are titles of the one Blessed Virgin Mary, often linked to an apparition or a beloved image.
- Holy Figures. Some people on our Holy Pages, such as Mother Angelica, are much loved for their faith and work but have no title in a canonization process.
The titles at a glance
- S.D. (Servant of God): a cause for canonization has been opened. No feast day.
- Ven. (Venerable): heroic virtue (or martyrdom, or offering of life) declared by the pope. No feast day.
- Bl. (Blessed): beatified, usually after one approved miracle. Feast day on local calendars.
- St. (Saint), Sts. (Saints): canonized, usually after a second miracle, or recognized from the early Church. May be honored everywhere.
To learn what the calendar tags next to each feast day mean (GRC, Tridentine, Martyrologium, USCCB and Devotional), see Understanding the Catholic Saints Calendars.
Sources
As per the Holy See (Vatican.va): the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 828; Pope St. John Paul II's apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister (1983), which sets the process followed today; Pope Francis's apostolic letter Maiorem hac Dilectionem (2017), on the offering of life; and the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
This guide reflects our best understanding of the Church's process for the causes of saints. If you notice something that needs correction, please contact us. We welcome the help of our knowledgeable customers.
