Throughout history, there have been over 10,000 Catholic saints. Even the Catholic church itself is not sure of exactly how many saints there are. That’s because the Church does not make anyone a saint — they simply recognize those who are proven to be saints, through their deeds, actions, words, or remembrance. The title of saint simply refers to someone who has been recognized as such.
A saint is always considered to be someone close to perfect, someone who embodies the goodness of God here on earth. The most current example of this is Mother Teresa, a woman known the world over for her good works and shining example. The Church tells the story of the saints, and the saints in turn are telling the story of God.
Patron saints are those who stand for a particular cause or religion. St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of writers, thanks to the fact that he was an author himself. St. Cecelia is the patron saint of musicians and the arts, and St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. Perhaps the best known patron saint is St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless or desperate causes, who has become the cornerstone of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where a statue of St. Jude overlooks miracles that happen to those “hopeless causes” every day.
The formal process of recognizing a saint is called canonization. This can take many years, and in some cases, it can take centuries. The life of the proposed saint is examined in-depth, with expert researchers digging deep into their background. The person may be called “venerable” after a period of time, and after even more research into their life, they might earn the title of “blessed.” In order to be formally declared a saint, two miracles must be attributed to the person, both of which must be posthumous. At that point, the person is formerly declared a Saint.
To honor the saints, each saint has a “feast day” or a day of celebration. This can fall at any time during the calendar year, and is determined by the Catholic Church. Some of these feast days have become very important in modern culture, such as the feast day of St. Nicholas (Christmas Eve) and the feast day of St. Valentine (Valentine’s Day).