What is the difference between saints and blesseds?
The short answer
They are stages in the Church's process. Beatification usually requires one attested miracle and permits veneration by the local church. Canonization usually requires two, permits veneration by the universal Church, and is a definitive, infallible statement that the saint is in heaven.
The steps
From first to last, the titles are Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed and Saint.
Blessed
A "Blessed" has been beatified. Beatification typically requires one attested miracle and allows veneration by the person's local church.
Saint
Canonization typically requires two attested miracles and allows veneration by the universal Church. It is a definitive and therefore infallible statement that the saint is in heaven.
Continue exploring
- How does someone become a saint?Q&A
- Could the Catholic Church canonize a non-Catholic?Q&A
- How can Eastern Orthodoxy have saints if it has no pope?Q&A
- Should Catholics venerate saints canonized by Eastern Orthodox churches?Q&A
- Are there any rules governing relics?Q&A
- How do we know St. Anne was Mary's mother, since the Bible doesn't mention her?Q&A