Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn'T, and Why

482 Pages·1990·22.066 MB·English

by  Kenneth L. Woodward

"Extraordinary. a near miracle of
. .
research and journalistic integrity." -THE LOS ANGELES times
How
THE Catholic Church
Who
Determines Becomes
a Saint,
Who Why
and
Doesn't,
WOODWARD
KENNETH
L.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/makingsaintsOOkenn
Acclaim for Making Saints
''A fascinating and moving account of the interplay between the pol-
itics of the Roman Catholic Church and the claims of heroic virtue. A
—
first-rate contribution to the history and sociology of religion and a
fascinating read."
—
Arthur Hertzberg
"Always interesting, sometimes a little horrifying and not without
comedy."
—
Graham Greene
— —
"[Woodward's] reporting fair, thorough, and forcefully written has
earned him an international following among people who want reli-
gion to be treated as a major beat. [His] professional graces are
. . . . . .
on large display in this investigation of the politics, economics, and
deal-making in the production of saints."
—
Washington Post Book World
"Balanced and utterly absorbing explains in fascinating detail how
. . .
and why the church makes saints."
—
The Economist
"Illuminating offers a thorough, scholarly history of sainthood in
. . .
the church ... a sympathetic and yet slightly painful portrait of a
church itself unsure about the nature of sainthood."
—
Village Voice
"The book's fascination comes in the intimacy of its investigation.
This is not an expose; nothing nefarious is going on. Rather, it is the
only book ever written on this highly intriguing, usually secret aspect
of Catholic Church operations. Books like this one, by an able
. . .
journalist both qualified and devoted, perform a service well beyond
own
their time."
Minneapolis Star Tribune
book of this magnitude should not go unnoticed. ... It is also
required reading for anyone interested in understanding what makes
such a visible and influential branch of Christianity tick."
—
Milwaukee fournal
"Intriguing, thoughtful, and intelligently critical."
—
Library fournal
"This is perhaps the first time a book about the Vatican has made a
change in the way it behaves."
—
Times Literary Supplement
"Unquestionably the definitive book on its subject."
—
Robert Bums, U. S. Catholic
Also by Kenneth L. Woodward
Grandparents/Grandchildren: The Vital Connection
(with Arthur Kornhaher, M.D.]
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How
Church
the Catholic
Who
Determines Becomes a Saint,
Why
Who
and
Doesn't,
Woodward
Kenneth
L.
BOSTON
SOUTH
A Touchstone Book
Published by Simon Schuster
New York London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore
• • • • •
—
Tir
TOUCHSTONE
Simon Schuster Building
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New New
York, York 10020
Copyright © 1990 by Kenneth L. Woodward
All rights reserved
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
First Touchstone Edition 1991
TOUCHSTONE
and colophon are registered trademarks
of Simon Schuster Inc.
Designed by Sheree Goodman
Picture research by Natalie Goldstein and Bert G. Marino
Manufactured in the United States of America
3579 8642
10
13579 8642
10 Pbk.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Woodward, Kenneth
L.
Making saints how the Catholic Church determines who
:
becomes a saint, who doesn't, and why / Kenneth L. Woodward.
cm.
p.
Includes index.
^ — —
I. Canonization History 20th century. 2. Blessed
Biography.
Title.
I.
BX2330.W66
1990
—
235 '.24 dc2o 90-101 17
CIP
ISBN 0-671-64246-4
ISBN: 0-671-74743-6 Pbk.
Translation of The Poems of St. John of the Cross © 1959, 1968,
1979 by John Frederick Nims (Chicago, 111.: The University of
Chicago Press).
FOR BETTY
COCONSPIRATOR FOR THIRTY YEARS
and for
Marie Brady Woodward and Alberta Boss Drey
But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably
diffusive; for the growing good of the world is partly dependent
on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me
as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived
faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
—
George Eliot, Middlemarch
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