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We share the joy of Catholics around the world at the canonizations of St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII, two of our most beloved spiritual leaders, and two of the most influential popes of the modern Church.
We are awed, as well, by the historic significance of the day: Two 20th-century popes honored as saints in the presence of two 21st-century popes—Pope Francis, who canonized the two new saints at a Mass and ceremony on Sunday, and retired Pope Benedict XVI, who participated as a concelebrant.
Some 800,000 pilgrims from around the world packed St. Peter’s Square for the canonization ceremonies—demonstrating their esteem and love for our newest saints.
Many also had personal remembrances of the popes, especially St. John Paul II, who died in 2005 and whose nearly 27-year reign touched the lives of many Catholics practicing their faith today. St. John XXIII, who served from 1958 to 1963, is also remembered by older generations of Catholics, who speak of him fondly as “the Good Pope.”
“They were priests, bishops and popes of the 20th century,” Pope Francis said in his homily at the canonization Mass. “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.”
God was, indeed, more powerful to those pontiffs, who were so clearly moved by the Holy Spirit as they carried out their courageous and groundbreaking ministries.
St. John XXIII, the first pontiff elevated to the chair of St. Peter after World War II, stunned the Church and the entire world by convening the Second Vatican Council to renew the timeless teachings of the Church for the modern world. The council’s reach was wide, resulting in broad liturgical reform, ecumenical and interfaith advances, increased participation by the laity in Church affairs, changes in the character and practices of religious congregations and much more.
St. John Paul II was a native of Poland whose election broke the centuries-old tradition of an Italian as pope. He became a towering figure on the world stage, helping to set in motion events that led to the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War. In his 27-year papacy, millions of people heard and embraced his message as he traveled around the world, putting a human face on a Church too often seen as a lumbering bureaucracy.
Now that these two popes have been formally recognized as the saints we always believed they were, we can honor them in new and special ways. Their feast days—Oct. 11 for St. John and Oct. 22 for St. John Paul—may be celebrated at Masses around the world, and parishes can be named for them without prior Vatican permission.
Mostly, though, we’ll honor them in our hearts and in our prayers, and we’ll continue to remember them and their enduring legacies in the Church.
As Pope Francis put it so eloquently in his homily, “In these two men, who looked upon the wounds of Christ and bore witness to his mercy, there dwelt a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy…(which) these two holy popes had received as a gift from the risen Lord and which they in turn bestowed in abundance upon the People of God, meriting our eternal gratitude.”
