Vatican correspondent Andrea Vreede:
“Saints are important to many Roman Catholics. You can call on them when you have lost something, as in the case of Anthony of Padua, or when you have to pass an exam or want to recover from illness.
Saints are ordinary people who have led pious and exemplary lives. When they have been canonized by the Church, they are close to God and can put in a good word with Him. Faithful Catholics pray through their intercession and hope that through that intercession their prayers will be answered.
The first step towards holiness is beatification. It takes a miracle to be saved. Usually this is a miraculous cure, in which an in-depth medical examination is carried out to find out whether the cure is really inexplicable. The Church does not act overnight in this regard.
When a person has given his life for his faith and has thus become a martyr, there is no need for a miracle for beatification. That was the case with Titus Brandsma, who was beatified in 1985 for his resistance to Nazism.
He who is blessed does not automatically become holy. This requires another miracle and again extensive research. It took a while for Titus Brandsma, but now it is here: the healing of the American Father Michael Driscoll.”
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