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Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII to be made saints in April Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII to become saints
(about 2 hours later)
Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Catholic church for 27 years and witnessed the fall of communism, and Pope John XXIII, who called the reforming Second Vatican council, will be declared saints on 27 April, Pope Francis has announced. Pope John XXIII, the pontiff who called the landmark Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II, who crisscrossed the globe during his 26 years as leader of the Roman Catholic church, will be declared saints next spring, Pope Francis has announced.
The announcement of the date for the canonisations had been expected since July when Francis approved a second miracle attributed to John Paul, opening the way to the fastest canonisation in modern times. The decision to canonise the pair had been expected since July, when Francis approved a second miracle attributed to John Paul, clearing the path for the fastest canonisation in modern times.
He also approved sainthood for John, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and who oversaw sweeping reforms to modernise the church, even though he has only been credited with one miracle since his death. During a meeting with cardinals inside the Apostolic palace on Monday, the pope revealed that the canonisations would take place on 27 April next year.
When his predecessor, Benedict XVI, began John Paul's beatification process a month after the Polish pontiff died in 2005, the Vatican said the usual five-year waiting period was to be waived because of "exceptional circumstances".
In 2011, after a first miracle had been attributed to John Paul, he was beatified by Benedict in a ceremony attended by several hundred thousand people in St Peter's Square and the surrounding streets.
According to the Vatican, that first miracle concerned the inexplicable recovery of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, who was apparently dying of Parkinson's disease but was cured after she and her fellow nuns prayed for the intercession of the late pope. He himself died of the disease in April 2005.
Three months ago, Francis approved a second miracle – the case of Floribeth Mora, a 50-year-old Costa Rican woman who said she was cured of a brain aneurysm after a photograph of John Paul appeared to speak to her during his beatification. Her doctor told reporters that the aneurysm disappeared for no apparent reason.
Although loved and admired by many Catholics for energising the church, promoting interfaith dialogue and helping to hasten the demise of communism, John Paul II has been accused by critics of failing to tackle the sex abuse allegations against priests that emerged during his papacy. Others feel that it is simply too soon to make him a saint.
Francis's decision to canonise John XXIII even though the Italian pope has been credited with only one miracle since his death in 1963 is also unusual.
However, observers have noted that Francis – whose young papacy has been characterised by its warmth and informality – has much in common with the pontiff fondly nicknamed "Good Pope John". John XXIII was also fond of late-night strolls around Rome and pastoral visits to sick children and prison inmates.
And, in an interview with a US Jesuit magazine earlier this month, Francis said he intended to follow John XXIII's motto when it came to governing the church: "See everything; turn a blind eye to much; correct a little."
He also reflected on the legacy of the reforming Second Vatican Council, which his predecessor convened in 1962.
"Vatican II was a re-reading of the gospel in light of contemporary culture," he said. "Vatican II produced a renewal movement that simply comes from the same gospel. Its fruits are enormous. Just recall the liturgy. The work of liturgical reform has been a service to the people as a re-reading of the gospel from a concrete historical situation."
Loris Capovilla, an Italian prelate who was John XXIII's long-time secretary, said that when Pope Francis told him of his intention to canonise the pontiff, he was struck that the move was coming from "the successor most similar to him".
"I was so emotional that I couldn't utter a word," he told La Stampa. "He reminds me in every way of John XXIII: in his gestures, in his attention to the poor … He has the same humility and mildness of heart as John XXIII, who was a wise and enlightened father who spoke to the human family that is torn apart by opposing interests and by senseless and sometimes implacable dislikes."
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