canonization
CulturalExplanation
Canonization is the official act by which the Roman Catholic Church or other Christian denomination declares a person to be a saint. It's only after the person has died that canonization can occur. One way to define canonization is "officially placing in the canon of saints," from the Latin canon, "church rule or calendar of saints." In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, only the Pope can complete a person's canonization, adding the new name to the church's list of saints. But the process has many steps and can take years: The well-known saint Joan of Arc died in 1431, but her canonization wasn't official until 1920.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We’ve come for the smaller festival, San Fermín Txikito, held each Fall to commemorate the saint’s original canonization, before the Summer celebrations stole Hemingway’s heart and the international spotlight.
From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025
Last week she celebrated an event whose significance in her beleaguered land extends well beyond the spiritual: the canonization by Pope Leo XIV of two of her compatriots, the first Catholic saints in Venezuelan history.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025
Yesenia Angulo, 63, called the canonization a blessing and a miracle.
From Barron's • Oct. 19, 2025
Also worthy of canonization: Larry Graham’s thrumming one-note bass line.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2025
As the ordeal stretched on, there was more canonization.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
