Sainthood for John XXIII and John Paul II

ROME - It was the “day of the four popes”, a unique event in the history of the Church. And to round off the mass celebrating the canonisation of John Paul II and John XXII there was Pope Francis’s unscripted popemobile trip to greet the crowds in Via della Conciliazione. Two popes became saints and two more were in St Peter’s Square, the emeritus pope, Benedict XVI, having accepted an invitation to concelebrate the mass. Before and after the ceremony, Francis exchanged warm greetings with his predecessor, Joseph Ratzinger, to the delight of the faithful. Overnight, Via della Conciliazione and St Peter’s Square were already packed while the streets along the Tiber and around Castel Sant’Angelo swarmed with those who were unable to get any closer. Cautious estimates by the Vatican press office put the number of visitors at more than 800,000.

Proclamation

Angelo Roncalli and Joseph Ratzinger are now saints. Pope Francis’s proclamation was hailed with cries of triumph and lengthy applause all round St Peter’s Square. “It is the saints who give direction and growth to the Church”, said Francis in the homily that called John XXIII the “pope of docility” and John Paul II the “pope of the family”. Bringing the ceremony to a close, Francis thanked the crowd, the police, and the associations that make these days “memorable”. The pontiff also mentioned the municipality of Rome and its mayor, Ignazio Marino, who was invited onto the popemobile and later told Vatican radio listeners: “I said to him, ‘See that? We did it’”. Francis thanked the delegations from many countries that had come to pay tribute to two pontiffs who “contributed indelibly to the cause of the development of peoples and peace”.

Napolitano and Ratzinger 

Attending the ceremony were 122 delegations from around the world, ten heads of government and twenty-four heads of state, including the controversial president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. Father Georg Gaenswein welcomed the president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, and his wife, Clio, accompanying them to meet the emeritus pope, a very special honour. Joseph Ratzinger stood up as the two shook hands warmly, to applause from the crowd. Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, and his wife Agnese were among those in St Peter’s Square. Three reigning female sovereigns had the privilege of wearing white: Sofia, the queen of Spain, Paola of Belgium and Marie Thèrese of Luxembourg. Several official representatives managed to snap a quick selfie with the Pope as they were taking their leave. Francis was unruffled.

800,000 faithful 

Some 800,000 worshippers attended the canonisation of John XXII and John Paul II, reported the Vatican press office, adding that half a million of them were crammed into St Peter’s Square and the surrounding area. The rest of the crowd was scattered around Rome in front of the eighteen maxi-screens set up in the city’s squares. If anything, the figures are underestimates. Aerial views show crowds thronging the streets along the Tiber and the bridges in Prati, areas that were not included in the press office estimate. The forecast of one million visitors was by no means optimistic.

Sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses 

Hotels, B&Bs, convents and guest houses were all sold out. Many visitors arrived during the night and bedded down in the St Peter’s area in sleeping bags or on inflatable mattresses. Others didn’t sleep at all. Many pilgrims took part in a long prayer vigil that began on Saturday evening in thirteen specially opened city-centre churches. Later, young people, associations, priests, nuns and families followed the ceremony on multilingual video screens in Piazza Navona and Via dei Fori Imperiali, which was closed to traffic.

Eyes of the world 

The canonisation ceremony was shown live around the world to about two billion viewers. Five hundred cinemas put on collective viewings, some in 3D. The eyes of the world were on Rome, where strict security measures were in force. More than 10,000 officers were on duty, including 2,600 volunteers from the civil protection agency.

Medical assistance 

Many visitors required medical assistance. The 118 emergency services treated 1,771 people at the sixteen medical tents erected for the event. One hundred and forty-eight were taken to hospital. After the ceremony, visitors left the area without incident.

di CARLOTTA DE LEO  di CARLOTTA DE LEO 

English translation by Giles Watson