Beatification occurs when the Pope declares a dead person to be in a state of bliss. It permits public veneration and is the first step towards canonization.
Canonization occurs when the Roman Catholic Church officially admits a dead person into sainthood.
[Pope John Paul II] knocked down the criteria for beatification from two miracles to one, and did the same for canonization. In 1983, he reduced the amount of time required between a person’s death and the start of their canonization process to five years from 50… He produced more than 480 saints, and put enough into the pipeline that Benedict XVI was able to canonize scores more.
(Jason Horowitz, “Sainted Too Soon? Vatican Report Cast John Paul II in Harsh New Light,” NYTimes, 11-14-20)
(c) 2020 JMN
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