INTRODUCTION:
In the Roman Catholic Church, every November 1st of each year is the feast of All Saints, a day where we celebrate and honour those who have fought the good fight and won the race. The celebration of this feast is one that reminds us that through our baptism, we all are called to be Saints. Also, the feast helps us to imitate the lives of the Saints and even while we go through their profiles while on earth, we too may be encouraged by their saintly life.
The word ‘Saint’ comes from the Latin word “Sanctus” meaning Holy. In recent times, there has been great controversy on how the Catholic Church confers sainthood on persons and the criteria used in judging that a particular person is in heaven. Even the recent beatification of the late pontiff (John Paul II) has even generated great debate all over the world. Thus, in order to arrest this debate, we shall be taking a cursory look into what canonization means and the role of the saints in our day to day activities. However, it is to noted that the Catholic Church does not make someone a saint; rather she only confirmed what God has already made so.