The word canonization comes from Greek roots, with lexical compounds such as "kanon" which means "rule", followed by "izar" which means "to convert into" and the suffix "cion" of action and effect, therefore canonization can be described as the action and effect of canonizing. Canonization is the event through which the Catholic Church manifests that a certain person who has already passed away is a saint; It is a process that includes the introduction of this character to be declared a saint in the so-called canon, that list of previously recognized saints. It should be noted that long before, each of the characters was declared as saints without any formal procedures or requirements.
Then it could be said that canonization is the decree that the Catholic Church makes, stating that an individual will be venerated, worshiped, honored or revered as a saint for all that the church encompasses. That is to say that after this he will be publicly adjudged a saint and will be part of the official list of the saints of the church. Although this canonization is formal or not, it does not mean that it sanctified a person; it is rather a declaration that said person was a saint at the moment of his death, prior to the same canonization procedure.
Many times canonization tends to be confused with beatification, but these differ since the first is the decree referring to the public veneration of a certain individual by the church; which could be permissive or prescriptive, or locally or universally. For its part, beatification is a process that takes place before canonization, this consists of the declaration of the Pope, stating that a person already deceased, thanks to his virtues in life, is worthy of worship and enjoys heaven.
