Decades ago, one could even speak of centuries, parents used to assign the first name to their children according to the festival of the saints of that day, even among Catholics and Orthodox the custom of congratulating people on their saint’s day is still preserved. Not in vain in the famous “Mañanitas” there is a stanza that says: “Today, because it is your saint’s day, we sing them to you here…”.
He onomastic refers to the day in which a saint is celebrated, although it is common for many people to use it as a synonym for birthdays, which is wrong, since when talking about it we only refer to the list of the names of the saints.
Like every day of the year, today we also commemorate the women and men who stood out for having special connections with the deities, who did good deeds for their neighbors and who had high ethics and morals, reasons that led them to be canonized or beatified and be part of the saints.
This is the saint’s day Wednesday March 18
Saint Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem and doctor of the Church, who for his faith suffered many insults from the Arians and was frequently expelled from the see. With prayers and catechesis he admirably expounded the Orthodox doctrine, the Scriptures and the sacred mysteries.
These are the saints and martyrs who are also celebrated this Wednesday, March 18:
Saint Anselm of Mantua (11th century)
Saint Leobard (6th century)
Saint Alexander of Jerusalem (3rd century)
Blessed Martha Le Bouteiller (19th century)
Saint Edward, king of England (10th century)
San Salvador de Horta Grionesos (16th century)
The Catholic and Orthodox Church uses canonization to declare as a saint a deceased person who during his or her life made sacrifices or was related to a divine event in favor of the church.
This involves including the person’s name in the canon (list of recognized saints) and the permission of the Catholic Church to venerate her is granted, recognizing her power before God.
During Christianity, people were recognized as saints without the need for a formal process; However, this changed in the Middle Ages. In the case of Catholicism, The Church must carry out an exhaustive investigation of the life of the person to be sanctified.
For the Catholic Church there are four ways to achieve the appointment: the path of heroic virtues; the path of martyrdom; that of exceptional causes, confirmed by an ancient cult and written sources; and that of the offer of life.
In addition, it is considered whether the person lived the Christian virtues to a heroic degree or whether he suffered martyrdom because of his faith, likewise, It is an essential requirement that he have performed at least two miracles (or one in the case of being a martyr).
Catholicism is one of the most widely practiced religions in the world.. The most recent data from the Vatican – particularly from its Ecclesial Statistical Yearbook – indicate that there are more than 1,360 million Catholics in the world.
The American continent is where Catholics are most prevalent, with almost half of those registered by the Vatican, with more than a quarter located in South America.
In recent years, the Vatican has noted that the presence of Catholics has increased significantly on two continents: Asia – particularly the Middle East – and Africa.
In contrast, religious numbers in Europe have been declining, while in Oceania they have remained stable.
