Popes John XXIII, John Paul II declared saints of Catholic Church
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Pope Francis proclaimed two of his predecessors, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II as saints of the Catholic Church on Sunday (April 27) at a ceremony in Saint Peter's Square attended by hundreds of thousands of faithful from around the world.
The canonisation of two former popes on the same day was unprecedented in the history of the Church.
Hundreds of thousands of people packed into the squares and streets of the Vatican to watch the ceremony.
The crowd was so large that it stretched back along all of Via della Conciliazione, the half kilometre-long, broad boulevard that starts at the Tiber River, where even some of the bridges were packed with pilgrims.
The Mass, which began under a light rain, was also attended by former Pope Benedict, who on February 28, 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down. Benedict walked with a cane and was dressed in white vestments.
It was only the second time Ben
STORY: Pope Francis proclaimed two of his predecessors, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II as saints of the Catholic Church on Sunday (April 27) at a ceremony in Saint Peter's Square attended by hundreds of thousands of faithful from around the world.
The canonisation of two former popes on the same day was unprecedented in the history of the Church.
Hundreds of thousands of people packed into the squares and streets of the Vatican to watch the ceremony.
The crowd was so large that it stretched back along all of Via della Conciliazione, the half kilometre-long, broad boulevard that starts at the Tiber River, where even some of the bridges were packed with pilgrims.
The Mass, which began under a light rain, was also attended by former Pope Benedict, who on February 28, 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down. Benedict walked with a cane and was dressed in white vestments.
It was only the second time Ben