In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint.

Description

A ''positio'' is a formal brief arguing for the canonization of an individual in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

. Before canonization, the formal declaration by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

that a person is a saint, there is a long process, with various intermediate steps. First, a person whose

holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

is being investigated (by a postulator, appointed by the Pope) is referred to as a Servant of God. The very fact of appointing a postulator means that the process of

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

has been activated. If investigations reveal that the person was indeed holy enough, then a "formal argument for

sainthood In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

", the ''positio'', is presented to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

. This document contains the '' informatio'', or life story, of the Servant of God under investigation, as well as a series of documents and testimonies to support the cause (''summarium''). In short, the ''positio'' collects the evidence obtained by a diocesan inquiry into a candidate's

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

s. Upon presentation, the ''positio'' is examined by a committee of expert historians and theologians, and if they find the evidence presented suitable, they may then make a recommendation to the

that the candidate be declared

—that is, worthy of the devotion of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

believers. A ''positio'' can run to over 1,000 pages in length. The time between the preparation of a ''positio'' and a recommendation by the committee of historians and theologians can often be decades.

References

Catholic canonical documents Catholic theology and doctrine Catholic procedural canon law {{RC-document-stub