Pope confirms 3 leaders to be canonized

POPE PAUL VI, El Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and German nun Maria Katharina Kasper will be canonized as Catholic saints Oct. 14 in St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Francis made the announcement Saturday during a meeting with cardinals to confirm the canonizations.

The ceremony will be part of an October Vatican summit of bishops dedicated to young people.

Paul was Pope from 1963 to 1978 and is remembered for closing the Second Vatican Council, which led to major changes in the church, such as abolishing the Latin Mass for ordinary services.

Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, was a critic of human rights violations committed by the army and leftist rebels at the start of El Salvador’s 1980-92 civil war. He was killed by a rightwing sniper in 1980 while celebrating Mass.

Kasper, born in 1820 in southwest Germany, founded the religious order of the Dernbacher Sisters, or the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, who care for the old and the sick. Her community is represented in several countries and today includes about 600 nuns.