HONORING THE SAINTS

Area children who attend Catholic schools know that Monday is a school holiday, but they also know why the All Saints Day celebration is held.

There are feast days every day of the year for individual saints but the Nov. 1 holiday honors all saints at one time. And there are a number of them to honor.

There are at least three saints for almost every day of the year. However, the official Roman calendar of feast days for celebration worldwide does not have a saint's feast every day. Saints chosen to be celebrated by the Universal Church (worldwide) must present a strong message for the church.

Saints are those people, who have since died, that lived lives of great charity and heroic virtues. Starting with the first martyrs of the Church, saints were chosen by public acclaim. This somewhat speedy process had its flaws. Many of the saints were so named based on legends, pagan mythology or even other religions. As the stories of these saints were handed down, they became distorted. The Vatican finally decided it would have to take over the authority for approving saints in the Roman Catholic faith.

There are three steps to sainthood: a person becomes venerable, blessed and then a saint. A deceased person who has been recognized as having lived heroic virtues is given the title of venerable. To be blessed or beatified, a miracle acquired through the individual's intercession is also required. The final step -- canonization -- requires two miracles. A pope can choose to waive this requirement. Martyrs, people who have given their life for the faith, are not usually required to have evidence of a miracle. Canonization takes a long time and a lot of effort. Pope John Paul II instituted broad changes in the canonization procedure. The process often starts many years after a person's death so that the church can gain perspective on the candidate. The local bishop initiates an investigation into the life and writings of the candidate. A panel of theologians at the Vatican then evaluates the candidate. Approval by the panel is followed by approval of cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Finally, the pope can proclaim the candidate venerable, the first step to sainthood.

Elementary students at St. Mary's School have been studying about the saints this week. Most teachers focus on the child's namesake saint and let them research how that saint reached sainthood.

Audrey Borgfeld and Diana Deneke, teachers of a first-grade Sunday school class at Immaculate Conception at Jackson led their students in researching the saints."We tried to pick a saint that was close to the child's name," said Deneke.

The children even dressed like their saint might have. After sharing information about the saints, students formed a parade of saints and visited other classrooms.

Special masses will be held on All Saints Day, which is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics.