Home›Sources›Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and WhySourcesMaking Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and WhyCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/making-saints-how-the-catholic-church-determines-who-becomes-a-saint-who-doesnt-and-why.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/making-saints-how-the-catholic-church-determines-who-becomes-a-saint-who-doesnt-and-whyCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-making-saints-how-the-catholic-church-de, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why}, year = {2026}, url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/making-saints-how-the-catholic-church-determines-who-becomes-a-saint-who-doesnt-and-why}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXKenneth Woodward's Making Saints, published by Simon and Schuster in 1990, is a journalistic study, drawing on Woodward's reporting inside the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, of how the Catholic Church actually determines who is canonized, who is not, and why. Its strength is that Woodward was given access to the canonization process itself, producing an account grounded in direct reporting rather than secondhand description. Its limit is that it is journalism rather than peer-reviewed church history, and it reflects the canonization process as it stood in 1990, before John Paul II's and later popes' procedural changes, so a claim about the current process needs a more recent source.FactsClaims Backed By This Source (22 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsAssessmentReliability TierWell-attested2Published by Simon and Schuster in 1990, Kenneth Woodward's journalistic study grounded in direct reporting inside the Vatican's own canonization process, journalism rather than peer reviewed church history, hence the middle tier.NotesWell-attestedJournalistic study of how the Catholic Church determines who is canonized a saint.CitationAuthorWell-attestedKenneth L. WoodwardPublisherWell-attestedSimon and SchusterPublication YearWell-attested1990Source TypeWell-attestedjournalismClaims Backed By This Source (22 claims)This source backs 22 claims across the atlas. As facts: 16 well-attested, 1 open question. As cited relationships: 1 holds, 1 connected. Plus 3 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicOpen Questions, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 connected, 1 general references.Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.Figures, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.Religious Roles & Titles, 2 claims: 1 open question, 1 general references.Well-attested16FiguresLouis IX of FranceOpen QuestionsHow many of the causes now before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints rest on a healing later reclassified by medicine, and has any canonisation been reopened on that ground?SourcesMaking Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and WhyOpen question1Religious Roles & TitlesSaintHolds1FiguresLouis IX of FranceConnected1Open QuestionsHow many of the causes now before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints rest on a healing later reclassified by medicine, and has any canonisation been reopened on that ground?General References3FiguresLouis IX of FranceOpen QuestionsHow many of the causes now before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints rest on a healing later reclassified by medicine, and has any canonisation been reopened on that ground?Religious Roles & TitlesSaintComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year