This page leads to the main
databases of the website. Fundamental information on models of
holiness featured in the website - including names, affiliations,
birth and death data, status of beatification causes, addresses
of actors, - can be found at this page. To obtain these data, click the hyperlinks on the left hand side
marked Years,
Group Martyrs, Ceremonies, and Countries.
Entries for each individual model of holiness are
listed either according to years of death (click
Years) or, in case the individual is part of
a collective beatification cause for a group of martyrs, group
association (click
Group Martyrs).
These data were drawn from
the Index ac Status Causarum [1941; 1953; 1962; 1975; 1985;
1988; 1999; 2008], Attività della Santa Sede [1943-present],
Acta Sanctae Sedis [1865-1906],
Acta Pontificia[1906-08], Acta Apostolicae Sedis
[1909-present], Bibliotheca Sanctorum [1961-70; 1987; 2000],
Martyrologium Romanum [2001], Dizionario degli
Istituti di Perfezione
[1974-2003], regular updates transmitted by the Congregation of
the Causes of Saints (CCS), and information sent by the
petitioners of beatification and canonization causes.
Four sets of data are presented for each
model of holiness, as in the following
example:
(1) The first set of
data pertains to basic biographical facts:
The first entry refers to the date and
place of death. In the case of
martyrs, one of the following Latin phrases are attached
to the place of death:
in odium fidei: killed out of hatred for
the faith
in defensum castitatis:
killed in defense of
chastity
ex aerumnis carceris:
died from the physical/moral wounds inflicted on him/her
during imprisonment
per testimonium caritatis
fortis: died as a result of heroic
charity
ex acertatibus et vexationibusque
pro fidei quibus pertulit: died as a result of
physical/moral violence s/he endured for the sake of
the faith
In the case of a martyrdom which has
not been formally recognized by the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints (CCS), the phrase uti fertur (Lat.,
“so it is said”) is further added.
The
second entry refers to the given name of a model of
holiness. The given names are never Anglicized, always spelled in
their original forms and include
diacritical marks when these apply.
Extended Latin letters (e.g., the Polish
ł, the Hungarian
ő, etc.) in the original
spelling of names are retained.
Quoc ngu is used in the case of Vietnamese
names.
In many cases, one would encounter
(as in the example above) two names: one unenclosed and the other enclosed in parentheses. The first
is his/her civil name; the latter, the religious
name given him/her upon joining a religious
congregation. The devotional name
attached to the religious name is
Anglicized.
In certain cases a name enclosed in
brackets would be placed with the given name/s. This
signifies either (1) a sobriquet by which the individual
is better known, or (2) the civil name of a missionary
in the place of his/her birth.
The
third entry refers to
(1) the individual's canonical state of life
and (2) the diocese or religious community to which the model
of holiness is affiliated.
Many of these religious community have an official English name. In
cases where this does not exist, a non-official
(n.o.) Anglicized name
is supplied.
The
fourth
entry gives the date and place
of birth.
(2) The second set of
data pertains to essential facts on the beatification process:
competent diocese
refers to the diocese or eparchy which constitutes the .
protocol number
signifies the number which the
CCS has assigned to the cause for its official
correspondences; if none is given, it means that the CCS has not
officially issued one or made it public.
type of cause
identifies whether the cause concerns the question of the practice
of
heroic virtues or
martyrdom; in rare cases, it
concerns the Vatican’s confirmation of cultus,
i.e. a long-standing public devotion given to a perceived holy woman
or man who (in most cases) lived before the beginning of the modern
era.
(3) The third set of
data pertains to the iter (lat., itinerary)
of the beatification and canonization processes:
The data are color-coded to signify:
processes or inquiries held within the diocesan level to find
proofs concerning the heroic virtues or martyrdom of a Servant of
God or miracles attributed through his/her intrecession:
until March 1969, Canon Law
required the competent bishop to hold an informative process
before the “introduction of the cause” in Rome and an
apostolic process
after the “introduction”; both
processes would then need a formal “decree of validation”;
with the enforcement of the
apostolic letter Sanctitas clarior in 19 March 1969, the
“introduction of a cause” was no longer required; a competent bishop
was only mandated to hold a cognitional process
before forwarding its results to the CCS in order to obtain later
the “decree of
validation”;
since the enforcement of
Divinus perfectionis magister on 25 January 1983, the name of
this process was changed to
diocesan inquiry;
the CCS could require the
competent diocese to hold a
supplementary inquiry
in case further proofs are needed to determine the heroic virtues or
martyrdom of a Servant of God or miracles attributed to him/her;
in case the beatification cause of a Servant of God had been dormant
for a long period of time, the CCS could require the diocese to hold
a similar inquiry to prove the persistence of his/her fama sanctitatis vel martyrii
(reputation for holiness or matyrdom);
in case vital witnesses reside
outside the jurisdiction of the competent bishop, a
rogatory inquiry
would take place in the diocese where they reside so that their
testimonies could be gathered.
votes taken or decrees promulgated by the Congregation of Rites for a beatification/canonization cause
before the enforcement of Sanctitas clarior;
votes taken or decrees promulgated by the CCS from
March 1969 until the enforcement of
Divinus perfectionis magister;
votes taken or decrees promulgated by the CCS after the
enforcement of Divinus perfectionis magister;
votes taken or decrees promulgated
on required miracles for a beatification/canonization cause before
Sanctitas clarior;
votes taken or decrees promulgated on
required miracles for a
beatification/canonization cause from March 1969 until the enforcement of
Divinus perfectionis magister;
votes taken or decrees promulgated on a miracle for a
beatification/canonization cause after the enforcement of Divinus perfectionis magister;
dates of the promulgation of
a decree on heroic virtues or martyrdom (venerable), beatification
(blessed), and canonization (saint).
For a more thorough explanation of each stage, go to
Process;
(4)
The fourth set of data indicates:
the name of the
postulator of the cause (unless indicated otherwise,
this refers to the Roman postulator of the process);
the address of the petitioner
(Lat., actor)of the cause; and,
when available,
the official website of the
cause.
If the cause has reached its conclusion through
canonization, the names of the postulator and petitioner are
dropped. In their lieu is indicated an address where one can obtain
more information concerning the saint.
An Important Reminder
Please note that without a formal permission from the Hagiography
Circle the lists may not be published in a book, journal, or the
like that is intended to be sold commercially. As in any product of
an intellectual enterprise, International Copyright Law protects
these lists. Their unauthorized publication, in part or in whole, is
a violation of this law and the moral rights of the copyright owner.
For all requests for
permission to publish partly or wholly the lists, please contact our
general coordinator at our
Feedback
page.
