Pope Leo XIV: Without Saints, History Is Less Human
At his first private audience since lung surgery, he told a Dicastery conference that canonization requires testimony beyond suspicion.
Pope Leo XIV received participants in the “Holiness in History” conference on October 21 at the Pontifical Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome. The encounter marked his first private audience since lung surgery on October 13.
The conference, organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, explores the relationship between holiness and history. Addressing those present, the Holy Father stressed that canonized holiness requires “authentic, credible testimony that is beyond any suspicion.”
He noted that the historical methods used in causes for canonization aim not merely to produce historiography. Their purpose is to “bring to light the exemplary life, spirituality, and reputation for holiness” of prospective saints. Historical work in the causes thus serves the Church’s discernment, so that lives proposed for public veneration rest on testimony that is solid and clear.
Saints Who Shape History
Pope Leo XIV highlighted that the witness of the saints shows “a history shaped by faith.” The saints transform history by uniting faith with the circumstances of their times. In their concrete fidelity, the Gospel takes flesh within the events of a given age and leaves a lasting mark upon it.
He recalled that without the saints, “the history of the world would be immeasurably poorer; that is, less human.” Holiness recognized by the Church is therefore not only a gift to the faithful but a contribution to the human story itself.
The Pope also emphasized the essential role of historical commissions in the dioceses, together with the work of relators and consultors for ancient causes. He called for serious and rigorous verification in all causes of canonization, consistent with the demand that the testimony of holiness remain authentic and beyond any suspicion.
The audience underscores the Holy See’s ongoing focus on sainthood causes amid numerous processes active in the United States and across the globe. Coming so soon after his surgery, the Pope’s presence with the conference participants affirmed the priority of this work for the life of the Church.