Is it true that some of the Catholic saints did not existat all?

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Infallibility does not appear to extend to beatification (the stage prior to canonisation, which is viewed as a permission, not a command, and is needed prior to canonisation though is not the last step in declaring sainthood).

The Roman Catholic Church started to honour saints from around A.D. 100 but early saints were created more by popular demand than by mandates from those holding high office. Many of the legends and acclaimed miracles attached to saints were of a fantastic nature. It wasn’t until 1234, in the time of Gregory IX, that a set of rules and processes for canonisation were in place. Now, your question appears to be answered by the source I quote below.

“In 1969, the Church reviewed all the saints on its calendar to see whether there was historical evidence of each saint’s existence. After discovering that there was little proof that many early saints even existed, more than 200 were dropped from the calendar of feast days. Included in this list were some of the most popular saints, including St. Cristopher who, according to legend, earned his way to heaven by carrying the Child Jesus (who was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders) across a raging stream and thus became the patron saint of travellers. …there was no proof that he ever existed. Other saints, such as the Roman martyr St Valentine, Bishop Nicholas of Myra (the original Santa Claus), England’s patron St George and Ireland’s St Patrick were also dropped. They might still have a mandatory feast day on national calendars but are now ‘optional’ on the universal church calendar. Even less plausible saints struck from the calendar included St Guinefort, a French saint who was not only fictional, but was, in fact, a dog, and St Josaphat whose story is a fanciful version of the life of Buddha.”

It is eminently reasonable to have, as a first requirement before considering sainthood, proof that the person in question actually existed. Next would come proof that the alleged miracles did happen. It is a good thing that some saints, for whom no such proof exists, be dropped from the Catholic list of saints.

The source is from a Simon Fischer, who lived in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland, in 2012. He was writing to a national daily newspaper to answer a question from a reader, ‘Is it possible for a saint to be decanonised?’ The letter from Mr Fischer was published in the 22nd of October, 2012, Daily Mail newspaper. Many people are inclined to rubbish, if not outrightly attack the Daily Mail, but it needs to be pointed out that what I quote is from a private individual who was not in the employ of that newspaper. I do not know if Mr Fischer was/is a Catholic or not, and he does not give any sources for his answer. It is not possible for me to track Mr Fischer down. But I hope this information will help you get started in investigating particular saints, and may lead to more, as some 200 saints were apparently ‘dropped’ from the list of saints.

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