EMMITSBURG – The path to sainthood has something in common with a trial: There is testimony, evidence, historical investigation and a formal tribunal. But in the Church’s process of canonization, the goal is not to find someone guilty or innocent. It is to uncover evidence of holiness.
“It’s kind of like a trial – a civil trial, because in a certain sense, it is,” said Monsignor Robert Sarno, who spent 38 years working at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican. “The only difference is that we’re not looking to punish someone. We’re looking for holiness in the life of the church.”
Monsignor Sarno offered that explanation Sept. 13 during the second annual Saints on Their Way Festival at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg.