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 for 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. 

  • There are, however, entries whose names were originally spelled in a non-Roman writing system such as Armenian, Arabic, Ukrainian, Korean, etc.  These names are Romanized according to the systems used by the  Working Group on Romanization Systems of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN).  

  • 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.