In the early days of Christianity sainthood was a matter of popular acclamation. Each town, village or city chose their own saint, thereby elevating the entire city as well.
When the church formalized canonization in the 13th century, those traditional saints were grandfathered in. The church saw no need for editing.
Later historical review found no reliable information about many of the saints and some appeared never to have existed at all. Saints have been created for two thousand years now, so there are a great many. There are also records to validate the majority of them. Right?
When Pope Paul VI revised the canon of saints in 1969, some traditional saints were downgraded because of doubts about their stories, and perhaps even their existence.
One example is Saint Josaphat, who was said to be the son of an East Indian king who persecuted his Christian subjects. When he was told that his son would become a Christian, the king had him confined, but the son converted anyway. Scholars figured out that this was actually the legend of the Buddha, in Christian disguise.
The most famous of these non-saints is Saint Christopher, of travelling fame.
Christopher, the man, is thought to have been martyred under the Roman emperor Decius in the third century, but nothing else is known about him.
There are several legends, including one where he is forging a river when a child asks to be carried across. When Christopher puts the child on his shoulders he finds him unbelievably heavy. The child, according to legend, is Christ and he is so heavy because he carries the weight of the whole world. Thus Christopher became the patron saint of travelers.
This story is widely viewed to be a work of fiction. So if the story is made up, perhaps, too, is the man.
Saint Josaphat is not on any index of saints. Saint Christopher, despite popular rumour, is still listed. Along with his name though, perhaps there should be an asterisk.
Superheros and saints. We're told they're out there. We just don't know if they're real.
Stories put in a box and wrapped with rumour. That is what the past two thousand years has given us. Now, it's our job to create a list of our own.
