The process of being proclaimed a Saint in the Catholic Church:
In the early days of The Church saints were declared through “spontaneous local attribution” or “vox populi“. An example would be that of Saint Anthony of Padua, who was declared a saint in this way.
In an effort to establish a more formal procedure, in 1858 The Congregation of Rites was established by Pope Sixtus V to oversee the process of canonization in the Catholic Church. The name of that body was later changed to The Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
In official Church procedures there are several steps to sainthood: a candidate becomes “Servant of God“, then “Venerable,” then “Blessed” and then “Saint.”
Servant of God: the title given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause is still under investigation, prior to being declared Venerable. Venerable – the title given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause has not yet reached the beatification stage but whose heroic virtue has been declared by the pope.
Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life. It is a title given to a person during the investigation phase before they can be officially declared a “Blessed” or “Saint”.
Blessed: After the institution of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints opens the investigation, a miracle directly attributed to the intercession person being considered is required. The process for recognizing a miracle includes two stages: the diocesan stage and the Roman Congregation stage.A person becomes “Blessed” during the process of Beatification by declaring a candidates’ “heroic virtues” and beatifying them.
Sainthood: Following Beatification the process continues with research into the candidate’s life, legal documentation, and consultations with theologians; an examination by nine theologians who vote on whether the candidate lived a heroic life or suffered martyrdom; also an examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the Congregation; and finally the pope giving his approval and authorizing the Congregation to draft a decree proclaiming that person a saint.