Beatification
Beatification (from Latin beatus, "blessed" and facere, "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name.
History
Until 1634, local bishops had the power of beatifying, when Pope Urban III, in the apostolic constitution Cœlestis Jerusalem of 6 July, reserved the power of beatifying to the Apostolic See.
Since the reforms of 1983, one miracle must be believed to have taken place through the intercession of the person to be beatified, though the medical investigations of the Church are conducted privately and therefore subject to speculation about their methods.
The requirement of a miracle is not relevant to the canonization of those who died in martyrdom, as their sanctity is evidenced by being killed in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith).
The feast day for a Blessed person is not universal, but is celebrated only in regions where the person receives particular veneration. For instance, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was especially honoured in the United States of America and Canada during her time as Blessed. The person may also be honored in a particular religious order, diocese, or organisation, such as John Duns Scotus among the Franciscans, the Archdiocese of Cologne and other places. Similarly, veneration of Blessed Chiara Badano is particular to the Focolare movement; her case also demonstrates that, contrary to popular opinion, beatification may take place within a short time after a person's death of an individual (for Badano, twenty years).
