Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II

Pope John XXIII (25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963) and Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as popes of the Roman Catholic Church and the sovereigns of Vatican City (respectively from 1958 to 1963 and 1978 to 2005). Their canonizations were held on 27 April 2014.[1] The decision to canonize was made official by Pope Francis on 5 July 2013 following the recognition of a miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II, while John XXIII was canonized for his merits of opening the Second Vatican Council. The date of the canonization was assigned on 30 September 2013.[2][3]


John XXIII and John Paul II

Portraits of Popes John Paul II (left) and John XXIII (right)
Popes
BornJohn XXIII:
25 November 1881
Sotto il Monte, Bergamo, Kingdom of Italy
John Paul II:
18 May 1920
Wadowice, Republic of Poland
DiedJohn XXIII:
3 June 1963
Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
John Paul II:
2 April 2005
Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
Venerated inJohn XXIII:
Anglican Church of Canada
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Roman Catholic Church
John Paul II:
Roman Catholic Church
Canonized27 April 2014, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis
FeastJohn XXIII:
11 October
John Paul II:
22 October
PatronageJohn XXIII:
Patriarchy of Venice, Papal delegates, Second Vatican Council, Christian unity
John Paul II:
Archdiocese of Krakow, World Youth Day, young Catholics, families, Swidnica, Wadowice

The Canonization Mass was celebrated by Pope Francis (with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI concelebrating), on 27 April 2014 (Divine Mercy Sunday), in St. Peter's Square (Pope John Paul had died on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005).[4][5] About 150 Cardinals and 700 bishops concelebrated the Mass, and at least 500,000 people attended the Mass with an estimated 300,000 others watching from video screens placed around Rome.[6] This was the first and only recorded Mass in Church history where a former and current Pope both participated.

People present at the canonization

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Delegations from over a hundred States or international organizations were present for the canonization in Rome, including 19 heads of state and 24 heads of government.[7]

Country Title Dary
  Liechtenstein Princess Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein and Marie, Princess of Liechtenstein
  Andorra Co-Prince Joan Enric Vives Sicília
  Belgium Former Monarchs King Albert II and Queen Paola
  Spain Monarchs King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía
  Australia Minister for Education Christopher Pyne
  Hungary President János Áder
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
  Slovakia President Ivan Gašparovič
Prime Minister Robert Fico
  Paraguay President Horacio Cartes
  Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaitė
Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius
  Lebanon President Michel Suleiman
Prime Minister Tammam Salam
  Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga
  Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández
  Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
  Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba
  El Salvador President Mauricio Funes
Vice President and President-elect Salvador Sánchez Cerén
  Ecuador President Rafael Correa
  Cameroon President Paul Biya
  Bosnia and Herzegovina President Bakir Izetbegovic
  Argentina President of the Chamber of Deputies Julián Domínguez
  Mexico First Lady Angélica Rivera
  United States Special Advisor to the President John Podesta
  Ireland Taoiseach Enda Kenny
  Venezuela Minister of Foreign Affairs Elías Jaua
  Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Deshchytsia
  Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe
  Luxembourg Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
  Croatia President Ivo Josipović
Prime Minister Zoran Milanović
  Bulgaria President Rosen Plevneliev
Royal family Tsar Simeon II, former Prime Minister

Queen Margarita
Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria

  Taiwan Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義)
  France Prime Minister Manuel Valls
Former First Lady Bernadette Chirac
Former Prime Minister François Fillon
Senator and President of Ain France-Holy group the Senate Charles Revet
Member of Parliament and President of Ain France-Holy group the National Assembly Xavier Breton
  EU President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy
President of the European Commission José Manuel Durão Barroso
  Italy President Giorgio Napolitano
First Lady Clio Maria Bittoni
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
  Poland President Bronislaw Komorowski
First Lady Anna Komorowska
Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Former President Aleksander Kwasniewski
Former First Lady Jolanta Kwasniewska
Former President Lech Walesa
Former First Lady Danuta Walesa
Marshal of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz
President of the Senate Bogdan Borusewicz
  Slovenia President Borut Pahor
Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek

Images

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References

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  1. ^ "Popes set for historic Vatican saints ceremony". BBC News. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  2. ^ "Popes John Paul II and John XXIII declared saints". Daily Telegraph. 27 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  3. ^ "A Double Canonization for Popes John XXIII and John Paul II". Wall Street Journal. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  4. ^ Davies, Lizzy (27 April 2014). "Popes John Paul II and John XXIII declared saints in double canonisation". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  5. ^ Smith-Spark, Laura; Gallagher, Delia; Wedeman, Ben (27 April 2014). "Sainthood for John Paul II and John XXIII, as crowds pack St. Peter's Square". CNN. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  6. ^ McDonnell, Patrick J.; Kington, Tom (27 April 2014). "Canonization of predecessors provides another boost for Pope Francis". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. An estimated 800,000 people descended on Rome for the dual canonization, a Vatican spokesman said. That included the half a million around the Vatican and another 300,000 watching the event on giant TV screens set up throughout the city of Rome.
  7. ^ "John XXIII and John Paul II Inscribed in the Book of Saints". Vatican Information Service. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014..