How Many Popes Are Canonized Saints?

One of them is St Anacletus, who, until Bugnini's deforms of 1960, was celebrated today. And the last two are questionable at best.

From Aleteia

By Larry Peterson

About a third of the Successors to Peter have been formally raised to the altars, which is to say, have been canonized as official saints.

Of the popes we've had since St. Peter, 82 have been recognized universally as canonized saints. Every one of the first 35 popes was canonized; 31 of them were martyrs.

When Paul VI was canonized in 2018, he became the 82nd canonized pope. Prior to his canonization, the most recent to have been canonized were Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, in 2014. Most recently, Pope John Paul I was beatified in 2022, which is one step away from canonization. Pius XII was declared venerable in 2009.

Only 8 since the 11th century

Interestingly, of these 82 saints, only eight have been canonized since the 11th century. Regarding that number, we should remember that during the Church’s first 1,000 years, there was very little formal process in place for the canonization of a saint.

Those eight are:

Pope Benedict IX (#142); Pope Gregory VII (#156); Pope Gregory X (#193); Pope Pius V (#224); Pope Pius X  (#256); Pope John XXIII (#260); Pope John Paul II (#264); and Pope Paul VI (#262).

After the first millennium, the Church began to develop an orderly process for determining the qualifications of those presented for sainthood. On July 4, 973,  Pope Benedict VI canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg. St. Ulrich thus became the first person canonized by a pope.

In the year 1243, Pope Gregory IX affirmed that only the pope had the authority to declare someone a saint. This is still true today, though it should be noted the pope's special role in a type of canonization, called “equivalent canonization,” when a pope simply confirms a devotion to a saint who is already well-established in the Church. This equivalent canonization was the case of the Jesuit Pierre Faber (1506-1546) recognized by Pope Francis in 2013, or of Hildegard of Bingen, recognized by Pope Benedict XVI.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law stated that a cause for sainthood could not open until 50 years after the candidate's death. Pope John Paul II shortened that time frame to five years. On occasion, that time period can be skipped or shortened, as Benedict XVI did when Pope John Paul II passed away.

The average waiting time for a person to be canonized after death has been around 180 years. Pope St. John Paul II was canonized just nine years after his death.

Remarkable popes

Let us meet some of the popes who have been canonized and who have stood tall throughout the centuries protecting, and many times dying in defense of, the Church founded by Christ Himself.