BEATIFICATION, in the Roman Cath olic Church, an act by which the Pope declares a person beatified, or blessed, after his death. It is sometimes the first step to canonization, or the raising of one to the honor and dignity of a saint. Beatification is said by some to have had its origin in thepagan apotheosis, but this is strongly denied by Roman Catholic authorities, who contend that it has its origin in the Catholic doctrine of the worship, invo cation and intercession of the saints. In the earlier periods of the history of the Church the worship of saints was local, then was passed from one church to another by authority of the bishops. Two classes of persons were thus . honored: martyrs and confessors. The first constituted those who had sacrificed their lives for the faith, while the second comprised those who had lived long lives of self-denial and Christian virtue. Toward the close of the 11th century the Pope found it necessary to restrict the power of the bishops in decreeing who should be held up for public veneration and -Worship, and ordered that such honors should not be accorded until they had been ap proved by a council of the Church. This prac tice was initiated by Urban Ii. In 1634 Urban VII published a bull which reserved to the Holy See the sole right of beatification. Beati fication differs from canonization in that it constitutes only a permission to venerate a cer tain person, with restrictions to certain places and to certain liturgical exercises. Outside the
boundaries of the places designated it is un lawful to pay reverence to the person beatified, or to celebrate mass with prayers referring to him unless special indult be had. Canonization is universal and also implies a precept. The process by which a person is beatified is long, sometimes requiring over a year. The postu lator-general chooses a vice-postulator, whose function it is to promote judicial inquiries outside of-Rome. The inquiries are instituted under the supervision of the local episcopal au thorities. When completed the resultb of these inquiries are sent to the Congregation of Rites in Rome. The documents are then published, after which an advocate and a procurator of the cause, the latter being sometimes known by the title of ((devil's advocate,* are appointed to prepare briefs for either side of the case. Thus the case passes through many stages at tended by deliberations, until finally the Pope signs the degree of beatification and the cere monies are performed in the Vatican. Consult Camillus Beccari's °Beatification° in the 'Cath olic Encyclopedia.' See CANONIZATION.