In Roman Catholicism and certain other Christian faith traditions, a saint is a holy person who is known for his or her “heroic sanctity” and who is thought to be in heaven. In the 10th century, Pope John XV formalized a process for the identification of saints. Before that time, saints were largely established by public cult. There are more than 10,000 saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, though the names and histories of some of these holy men and women have been lost to history.
The saints of the church are a diverse group of people with varied and interesting stories. Their ranks include martyrs, kings and queens, missionaries, widows, theologians, parents, nuns and priests, and “everyday people” who dedicated their lives to the loving pursuit of God. Religious and nonreligious people alike have found inspiration from their lives, particularly in the stories of saints who devoted themselves in service to the poor, sick, and disenfranchised, such as St. Mother Teresa and St. Vincent de Paul, among others. Many of the saints who were persecuted for their faith, such as St. Stephen and St. Perpetua, showed remarkable forgiveness and patiently suffered through their trials and tortures. Some are revered for their simplicity and humility, including St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Several, notably St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine, were writers and thinkers who shaped Western thought for centuries.
Catholics venerate the saints and look to them as examples of lives well lived in the faith. Many find comfort in the knowledge that holy people shared in their same struggles, sins, doubts, or hardships and ask specific saints to pray for them. Some saints are the patrons of certain occupations or causes, and these saints are often invoked to aid people in those professions or situations. For example, St. Judas (Jude) is the patron saint of impossible or desperate causes, and many Catholics ask him to pray on their behalf for the resolution of seemingly impossible situations in their lives. Additionally, many Catholics take or are given a saint’s name for their confirmation. A confirmation saint is often seen as having an invested interest in fostering a new Catholic’s spiritual growth and is usually chosen because his or her life story resonates with the neophyte. Most saints have feast days observed by the Catholic Church in which their lives and contributions are formally celebrated, and some have large followings of devotees and even religious orders in their honor.