List of American saints and beatified people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C., is the largest Catholic church in the United States. A special hall in the crypt level of the Basilica contains statues of every American saint.
For more information on the process of sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, see Canonization.

This page is a list of American saints, blesseds, venerables, and Servants of God, as recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. These people were born or lived their religious life in the present territory of the United States.

The Catholic Church has existed in the United States since the country's earliest history. Indeed, Columbus' expedition of 1492 included Catholic priests among the crew. Catholic missionaries were some of the first explorers in British and French colonial lands in the east, and Spanish lands in the southwest. Maryland was founded as a Catholic colony.

Catholics continue to contribute to American religious life up to the present day. Consequently, several American Catholics have been considered for sainthood over the past 500 years. Most of these Americans were born after 1850.

The first three American saints were canonized in 1930[1], and since then, only seven other Catholics in the U.S. have been recognized as saints. Roughly 40 Americans are being investigated for sainthood today, as shown below.

Contents

[edit] List of American saints

St. Damien of Molokai was canonized the 10th American saint on October 11, 2009.

The following is the list of American saints, including the year in which they were canonized.

Seton and Drexel are the only American saints who were born in the United States. Jogues, Goupil, de Lalande, Duchesne, and Guerin were all born in France; Neumann in Bohemia; Father Damien in Belgium; Mother Cabrini in Italy.

In December 2011, Pope Benedict XVI formally recognized the authenticity of miracles attributed to the intercession of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Blessed Marianne Cope and Blessed Pedro Calungsod. They will be formally canonized as saints by the Catholic Church in 2012.[2]

[edit] List of American blesseds

[edit] List of American venerables

Venerable Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus.

[edit] List of American Servants of God

[edit] Other open causes

Other Americans have been proposed for beatification, and may have active groups supporting their causes. These include:

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Time, viz.
  2. ^ "Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Bl. Marianne Cope to be canonized". CatholicCulture.org. Trinity Communications. December 19, 2011. http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=12717. "On December 19, [2011,] Pope Benedict XVI approved a series of decrees by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, advancing a number of candidates toward canonization or beatification. In 7 cases [Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and Blessed Marianne Cope], involving candidates who have already been beatified, the decrees testified to the authenticity of a miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession. This fulfills the requirements for canonization in these cases." 
  3. ^ "A Legacy of Faith, Family & Love". Apostolate for Family Consecration Media Trust. http://www.familyland.org/content/Content.aspx?CategoryID=601. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  4. ^ Kirby, Mark (December 16, 2008). "Dies Natalis of Father Lukas Etlin, O.S.B.". Vultus Christi. stblogs.org. http://vultus.stblogs.org/2008/12/dies-natalis-of-father-lukas-e.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 

[edit] References

Stages of canonization in the Catholic Church
  Servant of God   →   Venerable   →   Blessed   →   Saint  
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saints of the United States
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_American_saints_and_beatified_people&oldid=480088806"
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export