Sainthood is an uncommon honour. It bestows not only a holy title upon someone, but also enacts Papal authority to create a titular landed title, often named after their home nation or city, in certain cases, this is forgone, as the locale of the Saint is not known often due to their immense age. In addition, a Saint is also a patron of a particular trait, occupation, or discipline, known as a domain. It is possible for multiple Saints to patronise the same things, (often when an individual devotee to a Saint becomes one), but in such a case a chapel will only be named for the more prestigious Saint, often this will be based upon age, although this is a decision reserved for the chaplain. The unchosen Saints will then be known as ‘auxillary Saints’, and can still be worshipped and depicted within the chapel. Regardless of auxillary status, Saints rank higher even than Cardinals in the eyes of the Papacy.
The requirements for Sainthood are very strict and it is more common that a potential Saint will be rejected rather than accepted. To begin with a candidate for Sainthood is put forth upon their death. Usually this individual will be well known to the Church, so the body will be interred immediately to the nearest chapel for preservation and observation, lest they be resurrected. If there is a delay and the body is already buried, administrative and remedial action to obtain the corpse and repair any damage will take place. The interment is initially in a chapel crypt and the individual is then termed ‘Sacro in Fide’, (Sacred in Faith). Observation lasts for 50 days, upon which the body is then moved to the chapel gardens and buried. Depending on the proposed domain of the Sacred, an appropriate flower or tree will be planted above them.
While the observation period passed, as much knowledge as possible would be gathered regarding the Sacred. The aim here is to discover anything to exclude the individual from Sainthood and can be quite intrusive. The body will be inspected for any indication of vices, the rotting of the teeth for gluttony, the rashes of Lover’s Pox, relatives and friends may be interviewed and even possessions will be searched for any suggestion of indiscretion. These are then presented to a chaplain who, if convinced that there is enough evidence of impurity, can exclude the Sacred at this stage. What constitutes ‘enough’ is up to the chaplain, but it is rare for a Saint to be rejected here, as often chaplains do not view themselves as suitable judges of faith. The exception is for Sacred who were servants in life, chaplains often have far more evidence available in these cases and servants are also held to a higher standard than a lay individual.
The evidence, both good and
bad, will then be taken before the Iudex Leges and the Iudex Fidem of
the Papacy for proper judgement. Again, criteria here is uncertain and
the trials
are not public, so it can be assumed to be dependant on the perceptions
of the Iudexes. This is also where most candidates are rejected. If the judgement
succeeds, a ‘Commendaticcis’ is then sent to the Pope.
Again,
these are never made public, so the contents is unknown, but if the Pope approves, the Sacred is formally named and titled in a
ceremony known as the Sacratic Rite. The individual is thusly a Saint and a chapel can then
be formed, or they can be assigned to an existing chapel in the event that they would share an existing domain.