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| A day of ancient ceremony to create two modern saints | A day of ancient ceremony to create two modern saints |
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| VATICAN CITY — Throngs of pilgrims crammed into St. Peter’s Square early Sunday to watch the canonizations of John Paul II and John XXIII, a historic event bestowing sainthood on two looming figures of the 20th century who left outsized marks on the Roman Catholic Church. | VATICAN CITY — Throngs of pilgrims crammed into St. Peter’s Square early Sunday to watch the canonizations of John Paul II and John XXIII, a historic event bestowing sainthood on two looming figures of the 20th century who left outsized marks on the Roman Catholic Church. |
| Pope Francis began presiding over the church’s first twin canonizations of popes in a ceremony that apparently represents a decision by the crusading new pontiff to please both reformers and traditionalists. | |
| In a testament to the rare speed afforded both men’s path to sainthood, their legacies remain fresh in the consciousness of billions still alive today. | In a testament to the rare speed afforded both men’s path to sainthood, their legacies remain fresh in the consciousness of billions still alive today. |
| Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920, John Paul II is seen as the first truly global pope, a charismatic conservative known for stirring oration and staring down communism even as he railed against birth control and divorce. John XXIII, meanwhile, was a jolly, rotund Italian liberal who launched the sweeping reforms of the 1960s that found the Catholic Mass, once said in Latin, switch to the common tongues of the faithful. | Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920, John Paul II is seen as the first truly global pope, a charismatic conservative known for stirring oration and staring down communism even as he railed against birth control and divorce. John XXIII, meanwhile, was a jolly, rotund Italian liberal who launched the sweeping reforms of the 1960s that found the Catholic Mass, once said in Latin, switch to the common tongues of the faithful. |
| The massive crowds stretched for blocks under a light drizzle of rain beyond St. Peter’s Square. Organizers were predicting as many as 1 million spectators spreading from the ample Colonnades of St. Peter’s to the ancient piazzas of Rome, where big screens were erected for viewings of Sunday’s ceremony. | |
| Many hotels in Rome have been booked for weeks, with more than a few charging decidedly unholy rates. Nearly 15,000 police, clerics, volunteers and other support staff were fanned out to manage crowds across the Holy See and the Italian capital. In a nod to modernity amid ancient tradition, the Vatican released a smartphone app for the faithful to follow Sunday’s events. | Many hotels in Rome have been booked for weeks, with more than a few charging decidedly unholy rates. Nearly 15,000 police, clerics, volunteers and other support staff were fanned out to manage crowds across the Holy See and the Italian capital. In a nod to modernity amid ancient tradition, the Vatican released a smartphone app for the faithful to follow Sunday’s events. |
| At least 1,700 buses, 58 charter flights and five train-loads of pilgrims rolled in just from Poland, homeland of John Paul II, who, when elected pope in 1978, was the first non-Italian to sit on the throne of St. Peter in 455 years. Massive lobbying by the Polish church for John Paul II’s sainthood was one major factor, insiders said, to the record speed afforded his path to sainthood. | At least 1,700 buses, 58 charter flights and five train-loads of pilgrims rolled in just from Poland, homeland of John Paul II, who, when elected pope in 1978, was the first non-Italian to sit on the throne of St. Peter in 455 years. Massive lobbying by the Polish church for John Paul II’s sainthood was one major factor, insiders said, to the record speed afforded his path to sainthood. |
| “Each time his name is mentioned [in Poland], there’s a joining of souls and hearts,” said Isabel von Piotravski, a 55-year-old Polish artist traveling with a tour group of 120 Catholics from Poland, where John Paul II is credited with aiding the cause to throw off the yoke of the Soviet Union. Asked why he is so revered there today, she simply responded, “because he freed Poland.” | “Each time his name is mentioned [in Poland], there’s a joining of souls and hearts,” said Isabel von Piotravski, a 55-year-old Polish artist traveling with a tour group of 120 Catholics from Poland, where John Paul II is credited with aiding the cause to throw off the yoke of the Soviet Union. Asked why he is so revered there today, she simply responded, “because he freed Poland.” |
| Sunday’s ceremony began at 10 a.m. with a procession, clouds of ritual incense, and a religious litany ringing up from the square. | |
| The Vatican said Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI would be one of several co-celebrants of the Mass, marking only the second time he has appeared at a major event at the Holy See since his surprise retirement last year. | The Vatican said Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI would be one of several co-celebrants of the Mass, marking only the second time he has appeared at a major event at the Holy See since his surprise retirement last year. |
| Though it was a day for two former popes to shine, the blinding popularity of Francis — the first Latin American pope, who has upended church traditions in a little more than a year — was still managing to upstage saints. Gabriele Rossetti, 39, was working the counter this week at a religious gift shop near the Holy See, where everything from bobbleheads to mugs with Francis’s image were still the biggest sellers. | Though it was a day for two former popes to shine, the blinding popularity of Francis — the first Latin American pope, who has upended church traditions in a little more than a year — was still managing to upstage saints. Gabriele Rossetti, 39, was working the counter this week at a religious gift shop near the Holy See, where everything from bobbleheads to mugs with Francis’s image were still the biggest sellers. |
| One hot new item in stock: a potted cactus with Francis’s image — because, she said, “they told us he used to pray near a cactus.” | One hot new item in stock: a potted cactus with Francis’s image — because, she said, “they told us he used to pray near a cactus.” |
| “It’s not the double canonization itself, it’s Pope Francis that makes all the difference in the world,” she insisted. “The same thing under Pope Benedict wouldn’t have had the same resonance.” | “It’s not the double canonization itself, it’s Pope Francis that makes all the difference in the world,” she insisted. “The same thing under Pope Benedict wouldn’t have had the same resonance.” |
| The first global pope | The first global pope |
| The event was bringing together two men in death who in life were viewed as considerably different. | The event was bringing together two men in death who in life were viewed as considerably different. |
| Though the making of saints can take centuries, John Paul II’s took a record nine years. The clamor of his sainthood began at his stirring funeral, where shouts rang out from mourners of “Santo Subito!” – Sainthood now! | Though the making of saints can take centuries, John Paul II’s took a record nine years. The clamor of his sainthood began at his stirring funeral, where shouts rang out from mourners of “Santo Subito!” – Sainthood now! |
| A gifted orator, he railed against birth control and divorce. On May 13, 1981, he survived an assassination attempt by a Turkish extremist whose 9 mm bullets perforated his abdomen and intestines. | A gifted orator, he railed against birth control and divorce. On May 13, 1981, he survived an assassination attempt by a Turkish extremist whose 9 mm bullets perforated his abdomen and intestines. |
| “In 1981, right after he was shot in St. Peter’s square, while on the ambulance, he quietly prayed for the shooter,” said Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz of Krakow. “He didn’t yet know who he was, but he had already forgiven him.” | “In 1981, right after he was shot in St. Peter’s square, while on the ambulance, he quietly prayed for the shooter,” said Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz of Krakow. “He didn’t yet know who he was, but he had already forgiven him.” |
| But the man known as “God’s Athlete” for his vigor (he used to jog in the Vatican gardens) persevered, going on to travel the globe in a manner not seen by any pope before him, filling stadiums and energizing Catholics from Rio de Janeiro to Warsaw. In his winter, the world watched as he set an example, refusing to give in to Parkinson’s disease and continuing his ministry even as his condition grew more and more acute. | But the man known as “God’s Athlete” for his vigor (he used to jog in the Vatican gardens) persevered, going on to travel the globe in a manner not seen by any pope before him, filling stadiums and energizing Catholics from Rio de Janeiro to Warsaw. In his winter, the world watched as he set an example, refusing to give in to Parkinson’s disease and continuing his ministry even as his condition grew more and more acute. |
| “He could never stop,” Joaquín Navarro-Valls, John Paul II’s former spokesman, told reporters in Rome this week. “He didn’t know what anxiety was.” | “He could never stop,” Joaquín Navarro-Valls, John Paul II’s former spokesman, told reporters in Rome this week. “He didn’t know what anxiety was.” |
| Yet amid the celebratory mood, there remained a cloud over John Paul II. Accusations still swirl that he neglected to respond swiftly to the widespread sexual abuse of children by Catholics clerics that began to publicly emerge during his papacy. In an open letter published on the Web site of the survivor’s network SNAP, a number of victims highlighted the “great harm” committed as “he turned a blind eye to “clergy sexual crimes and cover ups.” | Yet amid the celebratory mood, there remained a cloud over John Paul II. Accusations still swirl that he neglected to respond swiftly to the widespread sexual abuse of children by Catholics clerics that began to publicly emerge during his papacy. In an open letter published on the Web site of the survivor’s network SNAP, a number of victims highlighted the “great harm” committed as “he turned a blind eye to “clergy sexual crimes and cover ups.” |
| “At worst, he perpetuated and approved them,” the signers said in their letter. “For him to now be given the highest honor in the church rubs even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of thousands of struggling victims and millions of betrayed Catholics and victims.” | “At worst, he perpetuated and approved them,” the signers said in their letter. “For him to now be given the highest honor in the church rubs even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of thousands of struggling victims and millions of betrayed Catholics and victims.” |
| An everyman’s pope | An everyman’s pope |
| Though perhaps overshadowed by John Paul II’s fame, John XXIII’s impact on the Roman Catholic Church was perhaps even larger. He launched the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s that ushered in sweeping reforms, encouraging more participation of the laity in church life, bringing guitar-playing folk singers into stodgy Catholic Masses and aiding the Vatican’s often rocky relations with other faiths. | Though perhaps overshadowed by John Paul II’s fame, John XXIII’s impact on the Roman Catholic Church was perhaps even larger. He launched the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s that ushered in sweeping reforms, encouraging more participation of the laity in church life, bringing guitar-playing folk singers into stodgy Catholic Masses and aiding the Vatican’s often rocky relations with other faiths. |
| Like Francis today, John XXIII, the son of Italian farmers, was viewed as an everyman’s pope who spoke not in arcane terms but plainly and simply. In fact, many see Francis’s decision to fast-track his sainthood — elevating him after only one proven miracle, as opposed to the normal Vatican requirement of two — as a sign of new pope’s stalwart backing for the liberal reforms of Vatican II. | Like Francis today, John XXIII, the son of Italian farmers, was viewed as an everyman’s pope who spoke not in arcane terms but plainly and simply. In fact, many see Francis’s decision to fast-track his sainthood — elevating him after only one proven miracle, as opposed to the normal Vatican requirement of two — as a sign of new pope’s stalwart backing for the liberal reforms of Vatican II. |
| One place where John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in 1881, remains exceedingly popular is Italy itself, where prayer cards and photos of the rotund “Good Pope” still abound in restaurants and taxis from Sicily to Milan. Though serving a global church, the good-natured pope was always seen as an Italian, through and through — a man as liable to crack a joke as pray. | One place where John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in 1881, remains exceedingly popular is Italy itself, where prayer cards and photos of the rotund “Good Pope” still abound in restaurants and taxis from Sicily to Milan. Though serving a global church, the good-natured pope was always seen as an Italian, through and through — a man as liable to crack a joke as pray. |
| “When he died at 81, I did not watch an old man die, but a child,” said Cardinal Loris Capovilla, John XXIII’s former personal secretary. “He had a smile on his lips.” | “When he died at 81, I did not watch an old man die, but a child,” said Cardinal Loris Capovilla, John XXIII’s former personal secretary. “He had a smile on his lips.” |