The devil’s advocate The Devil’s advocate was opposed by God’s advocate, whose job was to make the argument in favor of canonization. The office was established in 1587 during the reign of Pope Sixtus V and was abolished by Pope John Paul II in 1983. This abolition streamlined the canonization process considerably, helping John Paul II to usher in an unprecedented number of elevations: nearly 500 individuals were canonized and over 1,300 were beatified during his tenure as Pope as compared to only 98 canonizations by all his 20th-century predecessors
Home / Questions / During the canonization process of the Roman Catholic Church, what was the lawyer who argued against the canonization of a candidate called?