All baptized Christians are saints (and priests). We are all members of the communion of saints.

That is why the Apostel's Creed says:

* I believe in the Holy Spirit,

* the holy catholic Church,

* _the communion of saints_,

* the forgiveness of sins,

* the resurrection of the body,

* and life everlasting.

Canonized saints are those whose life has been particularly exemplerary and who have been investigated and whose lives are therefore positive examples. The investigation takes decades, but it always begins with a popular veneration.