Pope Leo: Mystical phenomena are not indispensable for holiness
November 14, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Addressing participants in a conference organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV said that extraordinary mystical phenomena are not “indispensable conditions for recognizing holiness,” which consists in conformity to the will of God.
Such phenomena, the Pope said yesterday, are not “individual privileges,” but are “ordered to the edification of the whole Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.” The “Magisterium, theology and spiritual authors,” he said, “have also provided criteria for distinguishing authentic spiritual phenomena, which can occur in an atmosphere of prayer and sincere search for God, from manifestations that can be deceptive.”
“What is most important and most must be emphasized in the examination of candidates for sainthood is their full and constant conformity to the will of God, revealed in the Scriptures and in the living apostolic Tradition,” Pope Leo added. “It is therefore important to have balance: just as Causes of Canonization should not be promoted only in the presence of exceptional phenomena, care must be taken not to penalize them if the same phenomena characterize the life of the Servants of God.”
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