Blessed
Article
The official ecclesiastical title, preliminary to sainthood, conferred by a solemn judgment of the Church after sufficient investigation has proved that the virtues of a deceased person have been heroic, and that God has testified to this by miracles worked through the intercession of the respective person. The solemnities of beatification are briefly as follows. On the day on which beatification takes place Mass is said in Saint Peter’s in the presence of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. After the Gospel, the secretary of the Congregation reads the papal decree of beatification, at the conclusion of which a painting of the newly beatified is exposed over the altar and the Mass is finished. About the hour of Vespers the Holy Father comes down to the basilica to venerate the new blessed. Regarding the cultus of the blessed, attention must be paid to the special indult issued by the sovereign pontiff. Usually the Mass and Office may be said on a fixed day within certain limits of place or by certain classes of persons.
MLA Citation
- “Blessed”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 13 October 2008. Web. 13 November 2024. <>