How someone becomes a saint
For the first thousand years of Christianity, saints were mostly recognised by local communities, often at the tomb of a martyr. The first saint formally declared by a pope was Ulrich of Augsburg, in 993. Today the Catholic Church follows a long process, usually beginning at least five years after a person's death.
A candidate is first called a Servant of God, then Venerable once their life has been investigated. To be named Blessed, a miracle is normally required, and a second for sainthood, usually a healing that doctors cannot explain. For centuries an official nicknamed the devil's advocate argued the case against. Orthodox and Anglican churches also honour saints, and many Protestants use the word for every believer. A saint's feast day is usually the date of their death, traditionally thought of as their birthday into heaven.
A patron saint for almost everything
Many saints are patrons: people turn to them for help with a particular job, place or problem. LUKE, said to have been a doctor, is patron of doctors and artists. CECILIA is patron of music. ANTHONY of Padua is the one many Catholics ask for help finding lost things. FRANCIS of Assisi, who is said to have preached to birds, is patron of animals and the environment.
The strangest modern choice is CLARE, a follower of Francis. When she was too ill to go to Mass, she is said to have seen and heard the service on the wall of her room — so in 1958 the Pope named her patron saint of television.
Four nations, four saints
Each nation of the UK has one. GEORGE, patron of England, was a Roman soldier from the eastern Mediterranean who never came near England; the dragon was added to his story centuries later. ANDREW, one of the twelve apostles, gives Scotland its flag, the white saltire, from the tradition that he was crucified on an X-shaped cross. DAVID is patron of Wales, and PATRICK of Ireland — his story is on our St Patrick's Day page.
NICHOLAS, a fourth-century bishop in what is now Turkey, known for secret gifts, became Santa Claus. Much less is known for certain about VALENTINE, and the romance attached to his day came much later.
Apostles, writers and a teenage soldier
PETER, a fisherman, is honoured by Catholics as the first Pope; tradition says he asked to be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to die the same way as Jesus. PAUL wrote many of the letters in the New Testament. MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE and JOHN are the four Gospel writers, and THOMAS is remembered for doubting. STEPHEN is counted as the first Christian martyr.
There are two famous saints called AUGUSTINE: Augustine of Hippo, the North African thinker of the fourth and fifth centuries, and Augustine of Canterbury, sent to England in 597. BENEDICT wrote the Rule that shaped monastic life for 1,500 years. JOAN of Arc led French armies as a teenager, was burned in 1431 and declared a saint in 1920. BERNADETTE saw visions of MARY at Lourdes in 1858, and TERESA of Calcutta, known as Mother Teresa, was canonised in 2016.