subclass_of bollandist
Acta Sanctorum (" Acts of the Saints ") is an encyclopedic ___MASK2___ in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of ___MASK54___ saints , in essence a critical hagiography , which is organised according to each ___MASK11___ ' s feast day . The project was conceived and begun by Jesuit Heribert Rosweyde . After his death in 1629 , the Jesuit scholar Jean Bolland (' Bollandus ', 1596  1665 ) continued the work , which was gradually finished over the centuries by the Bollandists , who continue to edit and publish the " Acta Sanctorum ". Jean Bolland ( 18 August 1596  12 September 1665 ) was a Jesuit ___MASK38___ and prominent Flemish ___MASK17___ . Heribert Rosweyde ( 20 January 1569 , Utrecht  5 October 1629 , Antwerp ) was a Jesuit ___MASK17___ . His ___MASK1___ , quite unfinished , was taken up by Jean Bolland who systematized it , while broadening its perspective . This is the beginning of the ___MASK71___ of the Bollandists . A ___MASK11___ , also historically known as a hallow , is a term used for a ___MASK62___ who is recognized as having an exceptional ___MASK90___ of holiness or likeness to God . Depending on the context and denomination , the term also retains its original Christian meaning , as any ___MASK77___ who is " in Christ " and in whom Christ dwells , whether in Heaven or on Earth . In Anglican , Roman Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Lutheran , and Oriental Orthodox doctrine , all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints , but some are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation ; official ecclesiastical recognition , and consequently veneration , is given to some saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church . The Bollandists are an ___MASK71___ of scholars , philologists , and historians ( originally all Jesuits , but now including non - Jesuits ) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the ___MASK50___ of the saints in ___MASK43___ . Their most important ___MASK63___ has been the Acta Sanctorum ( The Lives of the Saints ) . They are named after Jean Bolland or Bollandus ( 1596 -- 1665 ) .