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dishsoapandclorox t1_je1hwzt wrote

Reply to comment by pezx in TIL that in Chinese Folk Religion, a mortal human being could ascend into godhood not through the decisions of a clergy/church, but by the sheer number of people who believe that their extraordinary achievements led to apotheosis, which forced Confucian/Taoists clerics to canonize a person as a God. by Khysamgathys

Sainthood is a process. You do need a lot of people to know your name and accomplishments to achieve beatification (recognition) but you need several miracles attributed to you in order to be canonized. This process is controlled by the Church. There are numerous small folk saints people pray to but aren’t recognized by the church. Some Mexicans might pray to Pancho Villa or Jesus Malvedre, some southern Americans might pray to Marie Laveau, some Brits might pray to Catherine of Aragon, some Latin American criminals might pray to the Santa Muerte but none of these are prayed to outside of certain regions, lack miracles, and aren’t recognized by the Church or the larger community. Btw La Santa Muerte isn’t even Catholic and those who do worship it are Satanists and cartel members.

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