HIGHLIGHTS: Canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II

MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Church will have two new saints Sunday, April 27, as Pope Francis presides over the Holy Mass for the canonization of the blessed John XXIII and John Paul II in the Vatican.

Tens of thousands of people including families and singing groups armed with folding chairs and sleeping mats milled around St Peter’s Square, trying to stake out their places for the ceremony. (READ: Filipinos looking forward to canonization of 2 popes)

It takes two miracles to become a saint but in a rare move Pope Francis waived the requirement of a second miracle for Blessed John XXIII.

He was beatified in August 2000 after what was considered a miraculous recovery of an Italian nun who had undergone an operation to remove a cancerous tumor from her stomach.

The ailing nun prayed to Pope John XXIII, who had died 3 years earlier. With no medical explanation, she began getting better.

The first miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II was the inexplicable curing of a French nun who had Parkinson’s disease. This led to the pope’s beatification. The second miracle was the curing of a Costa Rican woman of cerebral aneurysm the very day of John Paul II’s beatification.

– Rappler.com

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