Sunday, April 27, 2014 – Pope Francis declared his predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II saints in front of more than half a million pilgrims at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday.
Retired Pope Benedict XVI also attended this historic ceremony.
“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.
Applause broke out from a crowd that stretched from St. Peter’s to the Tiber River and beyond.
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.
