By RAY CAVANAUGH
When asked to name a few saints, chances are that “Ulrich” will be overlooked. St. Ulrich (also known as Udalric) of Augsburg is an obscure figure, and, as far as saints go, there isn’t anything especially compelling at this point about his life as a 10th-century Bavarian bishop. Ulrich — whose feast day is July 4 — is extraordinary, however, in that he was the first saint canonized by a Pope.
Born in Zurich in 890, Ulrich entered a family of noble background. His education took place at a monastery in what is now Switzerland. In 924, he was consecrated as bishop of Augsburg, largely because he had the right family connections.
In fairness, though, he did a fine job upon obtaining the bishopric, improving the quality of education in his diocese, restoring buildings in decay, and providing relief to the indigent. Also a secular ruler, he did an exemplary job defending his territory against a 955 invasion by Magyars.
All the while, Ulrich led a “simple, pious, and charitable life,” according to the New Catholic Encyclopedia. Despite these admirable qualities, he came under criticism, when, after stepping down as bishop in 972, he appointed his nephew for the position. He was summoned to answer for this appointment, but the matter was resolved before any official ruling when the nephew died abruptly.
Ulrich’s alleged nepotism wasn’t enough to prevent him from sainthood, and, in 993 — just two decades after his death — he was canonized by Pope John XV in the first ever papal canonization.
For the previous thousand years, saints had not been given any official distinction. In the early Church, there was no formal process to designate sainthood. Most saints were venerated on a local level. There were numerous regional saints whose legacy didn’t exist beyond the borders of a single diocese.
Over time, bishops had taken a more active part in deciding who deserved to be regarded as a regional saint. Many bishops would demand written testimonies of someone’s virtues, supposed miracles, and circumstances of death or martyrdom, according to Kenneth L. Woodward’s Making Saints: How The Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes A Saint, Who Doesn’t, And Why.
The book adds that by the time of Ulrich’s canonization, “there was growing sentiment to have popes, in virtue of their supreme authority, do the honors.” Papal canonization also was favored because it increased the chances that a saint would receive widespread recognition, and not be restricted to a local cult following.
In the decades after Ulrich’s canonization, papal demands increased, as Popes began to insist on proof of miracles and extraordinary virtue. By the late-12th century, Pope Alexander III was rebuking bishops for inappropriate veneration. One letter shows him complaining about a bishop who suggested a particular monk — who’d died while drunk and brawling — be considered for sainthood. Though the mortally beaten monk had been known to work miracles, the circumstances of his death disqualified him in the Pope’s view.
Pope Alexander III — seeking to resolve the long-existing saintly confusion — decreed that nobody, no matter how beloved — could be venerated on a local level without papal permission. Literature detailing the purported miracles of unofficial local saints was banned, as was any visual work depicting them as holy. As Woodward writes, the “canonization process became increasingly fastidious.”
By the 15th century, candidates for sainthood were subjected to a standardized investigation and what was essentially a trial, in which an official representing the petitioners for a saint made his case before an official representing the Pope and his papal scrutiny. In some cases, testimony was heard from several-hundred witnesses.
Added regulation to the process came in 1588, when Pope Sixtus V formed the Sacred Congregation for Rites, which provided a foundation for the stages to sainthood as we know them: Servant of God — Venerable — Blessed — Saint.
Exactly 400 years later, in 1988, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a listing of all the saints it had recognized. The tally was 285, according to catholic
exchange.com.
In the past few decades, though, Popes have been very active in canonizing — to the point where some people raise the prospect of saintly inflation.
Though more saints are being made, the process is highly refined and complicated, and millions of dollars can be spent investigating one particular candidate. A January 2014 Catholic News Agency article tells how Pope Francis is seeking to lower the cost of canonizations so that worthy candidates from poorer parts of the world might stand a better chance. In many nations, the dioceses simply lack the financial resources to put their candidates on the Vatican’s radar.
Despite all the existing regulations, nobody knows exactly how many saints there are. Some estimates range as high as 10,000. However accurate this figure is, a huge portion of saints has been lost to history, so it’s a safe bet that no one will ever have an accurate saintly headcount.
Of course, if everyone who has reached Heaven is counted as a saint, then things become even more complicated.
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(Ray Cavanaugh has written for such publications as Celtic Life and History Today, as well as for The Wanderer.)
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