Making Saints

Description

Working from church documents, Kenneth Woodward shows how saint-makers decide who is worthy of the church's highest honor. He describes the investigations into lives of candidates, explains how claims for miracles are approved or rejected, and reveals the role politics -- papal and secular -- plays in the ultimate decision. From his examination of such controversial candidates as Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador and Edith Stein, a Jewish philosopher who became a nun and was gassed at Auschwitz, to his insights into the changes Pope John Paul II has instituted, Woodward opens the door on a 2,000-year-old tradition.

First Sentence

ON THE FEAST of St. Patrick, 1984, Bishop Theodore McCarrick of Metuchen, New Jersey, wrote a letter to his colleague, John J. O'Connor, who was to be installed two days later as archbishop of New York.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and WhySimon and Schuster1990-01-01
• Making SaintsPaperbackTouchstone Books1991-11-01
• Making SaintsHardcoverRandom House Value Publishing1992-06-23
• Making saintsSimon & Schuster1996-01-01
• Making SaintsTouchstone2016-01-01