I don’t disagree with anything you posted there.
The question remains. Why the sainthood? For what purpose?
They can be recognized for the exemplary lives without having titles added to their names and without prayers being said to them.
And without Feast Days proclaimed for them, and structures named after them, and relics, amulets, statues...I could go on.
At this point I don't understand the question. On its face it's something you should be asking God, not me -- so I'm sure I'm not getting what you're asking
They can be recognized for the exemplary lives without having titles added to their names and without prayers being said to them.
What do you mean by "titles?" I don't give titles to Dominic or Catherine of Siena. "Saint" just means "holy."
AS to why I "pray to saints" (I'm done talking about about the terminology -- nothing ever moves on that question, and while I know I bring an attitude and intention to a prayer to St Anthony very different from that which I bring to a prayer to any person of the Trinity I'm pretty confident that I won't be believed when I say so) I'd have to say that it's, in a way, fun and comforting, like hanging with friends.
It's also rewarding. Long before I became a Catholic I was praying to St. Anthony of Padua to help me find stuff ("Obtain for me the finding of" blah blah -- I'm pretty confident Anthony knows that I know that he can't do anything unless God does it in/through him.) Whether it is some grace given to my subconscious mind or some other thing, I am so astounded so often with how a prayer for his help (of intercession or whatever else) is found by my walking immediately to my car keys or whatever the missing item is.
And then I learn that the story is that in addition to all the "wonders" Anthony of Padua was granted a vision of the baby Jesus. And I have always been a kid person -- I was a pediatrics chaplain once and "head teacher" in a church related child-care program -- and I was able to see how worshipping our incarnate Lord included worshipping and loving Him as a child.
I might have seen that some other way, but I'm just as glad that it was through devotion to Saint Anthony that I was led to a richer and deeper love for Jesus.