<P> In his book Saint of the Day, editor Leonard Foley, OFM says this: the "(Saints') surrender to God's love was so generous an approach to the total surrender of Jesus that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration . They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ ." </P> <P> The Catholic Church teaches that it does not "make" or "create" saints, but rather recognizes them . Proofs of heroicity required in the process of beatification will serve to illustrate in detail the general principles exposed above upon proof of their "holiness" or likeness to God . </P> <P> On 3 January 993, Pope John XV became the first pope to proclaim a person a "saint" from outside the diocese of Rome: on the petition of the German ruler, he had canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg . Before that time, the popular "cults", or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous and were confirmed by the local bishop . Pope John XVIII subsequently permitted a cult of five Polish martyrs . Pope Benedict VIII later declared the Armenian hermit Symeon to be a saint, but it was not until the pontificate of Pope Innocent III that the Popes reserved to themselves the exclusive authority to canonize saints, so that local bishops needed the confirmation of the Pope . Walter of Pontoise was the last person in Western Europe to be canonized by an authority other than the Pope: Hugh de Boves, the Archbishop of Rouen, canonized him in 1153 . Thenceforth a decree of Pope Alexander III in 1170 reserved the prerogative of canonization to the Pope, in so far as the Latin Church was concerned . </P> <P> One source claims that "there are over 10,000 named saints and beatified people from history, the Roman Martyrology and Orthodox sources, but no definitive head count". </P>

When did the catholic church start honoring saints