This is an incomplete list of humans and angels whom the Catholic Church has canonized as saints. Catholic theology holds that all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many appear in the General Roman Calendar; others are recorded in the Roman Martyrology; and still others belong to particular local churches or religious institutes, with recognition that does not extend to the universal church. The Catholic Church's canonization process moves through four successive stages. The first two, Servant of God and Venerable, are investigative stages in which a candidate's life and virtues are examined; the latter two, Blessed and Saint, represent formal proclamation by the church. A candidate may be advanced to Servant of God by a local bishop, while all further stages require a papal declaration. At each stage, those recognized are typically grouped by nationality, by religious order, or as popes. Some individuals venerated as saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other Christian traditions are listed separately in Category:Christian saints by century and Category:Christian saints by nationality.