Two popes make historic canonization
Four pontiffs in one ceremony a ‘once-in-a-lifetime event’
Vatican City— Pope John Paul II ’s blood was once shed in St. Peter’s Square during a failed assassination attempt. On Sunday, a vial of that same blood formed the centrepiece of a ceremony in which the Polish pontiff was made a saint along with a predecessor, Pope John XXII.
A vial filled with fluid taken from John Paul II after he survived the 1981 assassination attempt by a Turkish gunman was reverently kissed by Pope Francis at the climax of an outdoor ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. The ceremony was watched by an estimated 800,000 people in the Vatican and on giant screens in the surrounding streets of Rome. Millions more tuned in around the world.
Catholic pilgrims from dozens of nations, many of whom had camped out on the streets and in piazzas overnight, flooded into St. Peter’s Square at dawn to witness an event with no precedent in the history of the Roman Catholic Church — the canonization of two former popes by two of their living successors, Francis and Benedict XVI, the 87-yearold Pope Emeritus.
Wearing white papal vestments, Benedict, who looked frail 13 months after his historic resignation from the Seat of St. Peter, was embraced by a smiling Francis at the beginning of the service. The Polish pope’s blood, contained in an ornate reliquary decorated with silver olive branches, was presented to Francis by Floribeth Mora, a Costa Rican woman whose sudden recovery from an inoperable brain aneurysm in 2011 was declared the second miracle that was required for John Paul II to be made a saint.
It was placed on a table near the high altar and stood alongside a relic from John XXII — a piece of skin, encased in a similar reliquary, that was taken from his exhumed body when he was beatified in 2000, the first step toward being made a saint. “Some people may be turned off by the concept of reliquaries, but it’s a very beautiful part of our faith tradition,” said Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman. “It’s a sign that the saints are still with us, that they don’t fade away.”
John Paul II declared more saints — 482 — than all of his predecessors combined. Benedict canonized far fewer, just 44, but the pace has picked up again under Francis in just over a year. In May last year he simultaneously canonized more than 800 Italian martyrs from the 15th century who were massacred by the Ottomans for refusing to convert to Islam. Asked why the Catholic Church continued to make saints, a process regarded by some as arcane, if not medieval, Rosica said: “Because they are heroes and the world needs heroes. They are role models for the rest of us as we try to live a holy life.”
While the crowds waved national flags and cheered wildly when Francis swept by in his white Mercedes Popemobile, some Catholics question the whole concept of canonizing popes, saying it is too political.
Victims of sex abuse by pedophile priests were also staunchly opposed to the canonization of John Paul II , arguing that he turned a blind eye to reports of abusive clergy. Francis has been careful to show no trace of favouritism toward either John XXIII , a progressive who initiated key reforms to the church under the Second Vatican Council, or John Paul II , a conservative who tried to roll back some of those changes.
“We declare and define as saints the blessed John XXIII and John Paul II ,” Francis said. The former pontiffs were “two men of courage,” he told the crowds. “They were priests, bishops and popes of the 20th century. They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful, faith was more powerful.”
Many pilgrims were from John Paul II ’s homeland, Poland. “It’s very exciting,” said Lidia Pelic, 54. “To have four popes in one ceremony is a once-in- a-lifetime event.”