Vatican City -Under the late John Paul II, the Vatican "ministry" that approves candidates for canonisation was made to work so hard that one of his own cardinals dubbed it the "saint factory".
In characteristically robust fashion, the Polish pontiff took hold of a seemingly anachronistic procedure and used it in a thoroughly modern way, as a means of communication. His canonisations were "role models" for Roman Catholics around the world and signalled to the faithful the sort of people of whom the pope approved. Virtually no nation or community was forgotten as he proclaimed almost 500 saints - more than in the previous five centuries.
On a single day in October 2000, John Paul canonised 120 from China, a Sudanese slave, an American heiress, and the first female Basque saint.
But yesterday, in what appeared to be the first major policy innovation of his year-old papacy, Benedict XVI quietly slid a spanner into the factory's works. In a document made public yesterday, several days after it was handed to the Vatican's saint makers, he stressed caution and the need for strict definitions in deciding who should be proclaimed a saint.
The new hard line could have implications for John Paul himself whom Benedict set on the path to sainthood just 26 days after he died last year.
Conservative Roman Catholics frequently expressed dismay over the late pontiff's apparent disregard for rules laid down for canonisation and beatification, the last step before sainthood.
In particular, John Paul seemed unconcerned about the requirement that a cult of devotion had to be shown to have grown up around the candidate. Pope Benedict, by contrast, emphasised that "the cause (process) of beatification and canonisation cannot be initiated in the absence of a verified reputation for sanctity, even if one is dealing with people who have distinguished themselves by their evangelical lucidity or by special ecclesiastical and social merits".
A miracle is normally required before someone is beatified and the pope stressed "the need for a physical miracle, a moral miracle not being sufficient". The exception is martyrdom and, here too, the pope tightened up.
Dying for the faith was not the same as martyrdom, he said. A martyr was a victim of anti-Christian persecution and it was "just as necessary that the persecutor's hatred of the faith should emerge".
Perhaps the late pope's most controversial move was his breakneck beatification and canonisation of the founder of the Opus Dei fellowship. JosemarĂa Escrivá de Balaguer, who was proclaimed a saint in 2002, had been frequently accused of vanity and showing undue tolerance towards the regime of Spain's late dictator, Francisco Franco. The beatification of Mother Teresa in 2003 also sparked debate because it waived the rule that five years should elapse after death.
Pope John Paul's foreign journeys were regularly accompanied by canonisations or beatifications of people from the countries he visited. The evidence adduced for these timely elevations often raised eyebrows in the Vatican.
Pope Benedict gave an early hint of disquiet last May when he decided against presiding at the often colourful beatification ceremonies in St Peter's Square so beloved of the late pontiff. John Paul beatified 1,340 people, more than all his predecessors combined. Some Roman Catholics complained that the pope's presence at beatifications as well as canonisations blurred their distinction.
Beatification and canonisation are handled by a department called the Congregation for the Cause of Saints. The pope's message was sent to a meeting of the Congregation this week.