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In fact, although Moses, David, Solomon and many other Old Testament characters have not been officially canonized, they are indeed considered saints by the Catholic Church. “They are the holy patriarchs”, says theologian Irineu Rabuske, professor at the Department of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS). It turns out that the Church does not use the term saint for those who came before Christ – with the exception of Saint John the Baptist and the parents (Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph) and grandparents (Saint Joachim and Saint Anne) of Jesus.
In general, key figures in the Old Testament are given the name «righteous.» The process of canonization only started rolling in the Church in the 10th century, to discipline the unbridled creation of saints, which at that time was done left and right. It is not known for sure who was the first person officially canonized by the Vatican, but some scholars point out that it was the religious Ulrich (c.890-973), archbishop of the German city of Augsburg. Today, the canonization process is conducted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Church’s official catalog of saints and blesseds currently has more than 6500 names, of which only six blessed and one saint (Friar Galvão) are Brazilian. $-)