Solemnities, Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials, and Traditional Dates of Commemoration
- Desiderius, bishop and martyr
- Guibert
- Leonitus of Rostov, bishop and martyr
- Ivo of Chartres, bishop
- Euphrosyn of Polotsk, virgin
- William of Rochester, martyr
- John Baptist Rossi [1]
May 23. The Catholic Church commemorates today 2 bishops and martyrs, 1 bishop, 1 martyr, 1 virgin, 1 Benedictine monk, and 1 priest [2].
The canonization process
Saints, as we know them today, are raised to the altar of the Vatican through a process called canonization. The canonization process as we know it today — centralized, investigative, and papally controlled — was not born overnight but gradually developed over centuries. In the early centuries, especially before 993 A.D., the Pope was not involved in the process, except to approve the cult of Saints in Rome under his jurisdiction as Bishop of Rome. As to the other countries and regions outside of Rome, the Saints were proclaimed by the local communities among whom they had lived and died. And the local bishop of those communities approved of their sainthood [4].
It was during the time of the Catholic Reformation, particularly in the wake of the Council of Trent (1545–1563 A.D.), that the process became significantly more formalized. In response to Protestant critiques of saint veneration and accusations of superstition, the Catholic Church doubled down on discipline, doctrinal clarity, and institutional reform. The Council reaffirmed the legitimacy of honoring saints while calling for greater oversight in religious practices. This led to stricter procedures in canonizations, culminating in the establishment of the Congregation of Rites in 1588 A.D. by Pope Sixtus V. Saints like Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Ávila, and Isidore the Farmer were canonized under this new, more rigorous system — serving as models of reform - era holiness and orthodoxy [5].
