When the Pope Confers “Saints”
Why the Bible Rejects the Catholic Practice of Declaring Saints: When Men Declare Holiness That Only God Can Give
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV declared seven individuals as saints in a publicly celebrated ceremony. While on the surface this appears as a gesture of honoring lives well-lived, from a Biblical viewpoint we must ask: Is this practice consistent with the Bible’s teaching of redemption, faith, and Christ’s sole mediatorship?
What Happened
According to Catholic sources, the pope advanced the causes of several “blesseds” and enrolled them among the saints. The ceremony signals that these people are publicly venerated within the Catholic Church.
Why It Raises Serious Questions
Those who believe the Bible to be the final authority must reject any tradition that adds to or alters to it. The canonization of “saints” by the Roman Catholic Church raises serious concerns, for it reflects doctrines that have strayed far from the plain teaching of the Bible. This veneration of saints can (and does) also lead to idolatry and worship. God’s command is clear:
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” (Exodus 20:3-5).
1 Timothy 2:5 states, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The practice of praying to saints or seeking their intercession directly contradicts this truth. Every believer has direct access to the throne of grace through Christ alone (Hebrews 4:16). To substitute that with prayers to departed humans is to replace the Savior with sinners.
Nowhere in the New Testament is there a command or example of the Church formally declaring someone a “saint.” In the Bible, all believers are called saints (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). The Greek word hagios simply means “set apart.” The idea of an institution deciding who has achieved sainthood is an invention of man, not something from God.
Yet Catholicism promoted veneration and a system of salvation mingled with works, sacraments, and church authority. The seven people the Pope venerated this past Sunday may have done good works, but that’s not what makes them (or anyone) a saint. The Bible makes clear that no ceremony or institution can make a person holier or a saint in God’s sight. Only the blood of Christ redeems and justifies the sinner.
Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14 proclaim, “In whom we have redemption through his blood.” No pope can declare a person holy, and no works can purchase righteousness. The moment a sinner believes on Christ, he is redeemed, sanctified, and made a saint. This is definitively not by papal decree, but by the power of God.
Having examined the false foundation of canonization, let us now look at what the Bible actually teaches about saints.
The Biblical Definition of a Saint
It bears repeating that, according to the Bible, saints are not an elite class appointed by any church authority. The Bible clearly teaches that every believer in Jesus Christ is a saint. As saints, we are set apart called to worship and pray to God alone. Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 with me:
“Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s:”
Notice the phrase “to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord”
Everyone in Christ is called to be a saint, not just the ones venerated by the Catholic Church. The Bible says “with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” It’s not just specific to whosoever the Pope chooses, nor does that do anything for the individual anyways. The Pope could choose to venerate whomever he wishes, but without saving faith in Jesus Christ, that individual remains lost.
Conclusion
The canonization of saints may impress men, but it cannot save them. The Bible teaches that salvation is not granted by ceremony, tradition, or papal authority, but by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Every sinner who calls upon His name is redeemed and made a saint. They are not made a saint by Rome, but by the Jesus Christ.
If you desire holiness, do not seek it through institutions that cannot save. Come to the Redeemer Himself. In Him alone is righteousness, forgiveness, and peace with God. As it is written, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
Let us, therefore, reject the teachings of men that cloud the simplicity of the Gospel. There is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Our hope is not in saints, relics, or rituals, but in the Savior who died and rose again. The true Church is not defined by decrees, but by those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.