THE CANONIZATION OF JOHN XXIII & JOHN PAUL II

On the Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday -  Pope Francis presides over the Holy Mass for the Canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.



Popes John Paul II, John XXIII officially declared saints

In a packed St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis officially declared former pontiffs John Paul II and John XXIII as Saints.

"For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and having sought the council of many of our brother Bishops, we declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II be Saints," Pope Francis exclaimed April 27 as the crowds cheered.

"We enroll them among the Saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Cheers and applause rang out across St. Peter's Square after the historic double papal canonization as many in the crowd fixed their gaze on huge tapestries of the two popes on the facade of the basilica behind Pope Francis.  The Vatican said more than 500,000 people filled the basilica area while another 300,000 watched the event on large television screens in nearby piazzas.

Pope Emeritus Benedict did not join the procession of bishops at the start of Mass, but arrived half an hour earlier, wearing white vestments and a bishop's miter and walking with a cane; he sat in a section of the square designated for cardinals. Pope Francis greeted his predecessor with an embrace at the start of the Mass, drawing applause from the crowd, and approached him again at the end.

During the canonization ceremony, which took place at the beginning of the Mass, devotees carried up relics of the new saints in matching silver reliquaries, which Pope Francis kissed before they were placed on a small table for veneration by the congregation.

St. John's relic was a piece of the late pope's skin, removed when his body was transferred to its present tomb in the main sanctuary of St. Peter's Basilica.

Floribeth Mora Diaz, a Costa Rican woman whose recovery from a brain aneurysm was recognized by the church as a miracle attributable to the intercession of St. John Paul, brought up a silver reliquary containing some of the saint's blood, taken from him for medical testing shortly before his death in 2005.

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Videos: Four Popes, two saints in Vatican canonization