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In the Catholic tradition, every once in a rare while a human being will lead a life of such incredible virtue that they are deemed to be closer to God than the rest of us, so close they can even bring about miracles. Such a person, man or woman, of any race of nationality, is declared after their death to be a saint.
Saints play an important role in Catholicism, providing a human model of perfect virtue. It is also widely believed that a saint in heaven can speak directly to God on behalf of a desperate or ill human being. Thus, for example, many Catholics pray to St. Jude when they are in trouble.
The best known saints are ancient – St. Jude, St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Anne, etc. – but new saints are named in every generation (Pope John Paul II has canonized some 280) and undoubtedly there are people living today who will one day be sainted.
So what does one have to do to become a saint?
It's not easy. In fact the process of canonization may well be the world's most complex legal process. A person can only become a saint after their death and the long, arduous, sometimes political, process of sainthood can take years, decades, sometimes even centuries. Some candidates are never accepted by the Church, though their cause is believed by many lay-persons.
Most saints have been European and to date, there are only four American saints (another 29 American nominees are currently undergoing examination). Only one, Elizabeth Seton, a widowed 19th century New York mother of five who converted to Catholicism then selflessly worked on behalf of the poor and sick for the rest of her life, was born in the United States.
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