On this Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27th, 2014, we live a historical moment, two great popes canonized: St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy. The canonization mass was celebrated by Pope Francis and attended by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Many of our priests, seminarians, and sisters, stayed awake and kept vigil at the Dutch Church nearby St. Peter’s Square. The all-night vigil included adoration and confessions. A prayerful and peaceful atmosphere to come into the canonization mass on Divine Mercy Sunday.
In his homily, Pope Francis stated,
“Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side. They were not ashamed of the flesh of Christ, they were not scandalized by him, by his cross; they did not despise the flesh of their brother (cf. Is 58:7), because they saw Jesus in every person who suffers and struggles. These were two men of courage, filled with the parrhesia of the Holy Spirit, and they bore witness before the Church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy.”[1]
We give thanks to God for this blessed and historical day. May each of us strive for holiness following the examples of these newly declared saints of the Catholic Church.
St. John Paul II, Pray for us.
St. John XXIII, Pray for us.
[1] Pope Francis, HOLY MASS AND RITE OF CANONIZATION OF BLESSEDS JOHN XXIII ANDJOHN PAUL II, April 27, 2014, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140427_omelia-canonizzazioni.html