When was Saint Ursula born?

Answer 1

Ursula is one of the legendary saints who may have never existed and is no longer on the Church's calendar of saints. If she ever did exist she was probably born sometime in the 4th century. Ursula may very well have been a real person who died for her faith. However, Rome decided that there was not enough solid evidence to continue her position as a "certified" saint.

There are a number of these "maybe" saints who were dropped from the calendar 40-50 years ago. Among them were St. Christopher, St. Dorothy, St. Barbara of Nicomedia and others. In most cases, local churches that honored these "de-frocked" saints were allowed to continue their devotions but the Church, as a whole, could not.

Until the 11th or 12th century there was no formal procedure for declaring saints. If a local bishop decided that popular acclaim and devotion seemed to indicate that a certain person deserved sainthood, he could proclaim that person a saint. This was often done with little solid evidence. About 900 years ago the Church decided that the decision should be made in Rome and removed the declaration of saints from local control. Eventually, this office became known as the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints and its members are chosen by the pope. They examine documents submitted by churches, clergy and religious groups from around the world and make a decision based on all the evidence. This includes any miracles that may have occurred due to the intercession of the candidate. They then submit their findings to the pope who has the final say-so.

Those who had been declared saints before the institution of the canonization procedures are called "pre-congregational" and most kept their saint status after the office was instituted. However, over the years some have had their official status as "saint" revoked. Ages ago there were some very questionable individuals listed as saints. Somehow, even Buddha was "converted" to Catholocism and made a saint, something that was a pure fable. He was removed from the calendar long ago.