Popes John Paul II and John XXIII to be declared saints

[Natalka]

Pope John Paul II - Blessed John Paul II (1978-2005)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II



Pope John XXIII - Blessed John XXIII (1958-63)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_XXIII



VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul II, the globe-trotting pontiff who led the Catholic Church for nearly 27 years, and Pope John XXIII, who called the reforming Second Vatican Council, will be declared saints, the Vatican said on Friday.


The Vatican said Pope Francis had approved a second miracle attributed to John Paul, a Pole who was elected in 1978 as the first non-Italian pope in 450 years and died in 2005. His progression to sainthood is the fastest in modern times.


The Vatican also said Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and called the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council - which enacted sweeping reforms to modernize the Church - would be made a saint even though he has only been credited with one miracle since his death.


The canonization ceremonies, which are likely to bring hundreds of thousands to people to Rome, are expected this year.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/popes-john-...110412579.html

[Natalka]

Over one million faithful are expected at what will be a unique event, with a mass presided by Pope Francis that will be co-celebrated with his 87-year-old predecessor Benedict XVI in a rare public appearance.

The Vatican also said 98 foreign delegations will be attending including former Polish president Lech Walesa, whose Solidarity movement backed by John Paul II helped topple communism in eastern Europe.

Churches will remain open all night Saturday for prayer vigils ahead of the mass in St Peter's Square on Sunday to honour two Roman Catholic leaders whose pontificates spanned from the height of the Cold War with the Cuban missile crisis to the fall of the Berlin wall.

Pilgrims holding vigils this night before


Polish f-l-a-g-s outside Sant'Agnese in Agone church at Piazza Navona

in Poland







Krakow (Poland), 26/04/2014.- People observe a light installation dedicated to 'Pope John Paul II' in front of the Archdiocese of Krakow, Poland, 26 April 2014, on the eve of the historic double canonization of past pontiffs John Paul II and Paul XXIII in Vatican.
------------

Access for the ceremony itself will only begin in the early hours of Sunday, with crowds of faithful -- many of them from Poland -- expected to arrive by plane, train and boat overnight, before settling down with sleeping bags on the square to ensure a good view.


The Vatican’s official bureau for pilgrims said 4,000 coaches bearing pilgrims would be arriving in the run-up to the 10:00 am (0800 GMT) mass, while other faithful will watch the canonisation in 3D at cinemas across the world, from Argentina to the United States.

[Natalka]

"It will be an event of global significance," Rome mayor Ignazio Marino said in the run-up to the ceremony that will confer sainthood on the two late pontiffs.


Monsignor Liberio Andreatta, head of the Vatican agency for pilgrims, on Wednesday said: "This is an event that Rome has never seen in its history -- the canonisation of two popes in the presence of two living popes".

Nineteen giant screens are being set up around the city to follow the ceremonies in different languages including Arabic, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish.


"From Poland alone, we are expecting 1,700 coaches, 58 charter flights and five special trains," said Maurizio Pucci, an official from Rome city hall, saying the canonisation will put the city under "stress".
The interior ministry will deploy 2,400 security officers and there will be around 2,000 extra local police officers in the streets.


More than 2,600 volunteers from the civil protection agency will take turns helping visitors, giving out four million water bottles to tourists and pilgrims.
They will be helped by 600 volunteers from Catholic organisations, hundreds of doctors and nurses and around 1,000 cleaning personnel to keep streets tidy.


Pilgrims crowd St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2014

[Darth Penguin]

Jean Paul crucifix crushes man

A 21-year old man has died after being crushed by a crucifix erected in honour of Pope John Paul II in northern Italy.
Marco Gusmini was killed instantly and one other man taken to hospital, Italian media reported.
Part of the 30m-high (100ft) sculpture collapsed at a ceremony ahead of the Pope's canonisation. John Paul II and his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, are due to be declared saints on Sunday.
The crucifix commemorates the Pope's visit to the area in 1998.
The installation, near the town of Cevo, was designed as a large curved cross with a statue of Jesus Christ, weighing 600kg (1,320lb), fixed to the top.
A group of children was reported to be in attendance at the time.
The cross was designed by sculptor Enrico Job and was created for John Paul II's visit to nearby Brescia.
The two popes will be declared saints at the Vatican on Sunday.
It is not the first death caused by a falling crucifix in Italy.
In 2004, the Associated Press reported that a 72-year old woman had been crushed to death by a 7ft-tall metal crucifix in the town of Sant'Onofrio in the south of the country.

[Natalka]

(Reuters) - Pope Francis proclaimed his predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II saints in front of more than half a million pilgrims on Sunday, hailing both as courageous men who withstood the tragedies of the 20th century.

"We declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II to be saints and we enrol them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church," Francis said in his formal proclamation in Latin.
Relics of each man - a container of blood from John Paul II and skin from John XXIII - were placed near the altar.

"These were two men of courage ... and they bore witness before the Church and the world to God's goodness and mercy," Francis said in his address.
"They lived through the tragic events of that (20th) century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful," he added.
John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and called the modernizing Second Vatican Council, lived through both world wars.
John Paul II, the Pole who reigned for nearly 27 years, witnessed the devastation of his homeland in World War Two and is credited by many with helping end the Cold War and bring down communism.

About 850 cardinals and bishops celebrated the Mass with the pope and 700 priests were on hand to distribute communion to the huge crowd.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A3P0KW20140427

[Natalka]

Pope Francis receives the relic of Pope John Paul II from Floribeth Mora, a Costa Rican woman whose inoperable brain aneurysm purportedly disappeared after she prayed to John Paul II, during a ceremony in St. Peter's Square on Sunday.



Catholic faithful gather along Via Della Conciliazione in front of St. Peter's Square



Tapestry portraits of John Paul II, left, and Pope John XXIII are seen during the canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 27, 2014.

-----------

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement calling John Paul II "an icon of faith and a defender of the truth about man's dignity and freedom."


"John XXIII came to be known worldwide for his humble leadership, attentive pastoral guidance and concern for the poor. He is especially known for convening the Second Vatican Council in 1961, which marked a significant development in the Catholic Church’s pastoral approach to the modern world," Harper said.


Minister of Veteran Affairs Julian Fantino is leading Canada's official delegation to the ceremony.
"I am tremendously proud and humbled to represent Canada at this historic celebration to honour the life of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII," he said in a statement.


"On the eve of their canonization to sainthood, we remember their service to humanity, especially Pope John Paul II who advanced the cause of freedom and tolerance, and Pope John XXIII for his commitment to the renewal and reform of the faith."






@JulianFantino With His Eminence Thomas Collins of @archtoronto for Mass before Canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II

[Natalka]

Pope Francis made his way through St. Peter's square and down Via Conciliazione to greet hundreds of thousands of pilgrims after the canonization ceremony.

[Natalka]

Watching from the Philippines

[Natalka]

Some of my favourite photos of Saint John Paul II

[Natalka]

The future Pope Francis when he became cardinal, with JPII

[Natalka]

[gryphon]

Pope John XXIII went out of his way to help save Jews during the holocaust and at great risk to himself