Two Popes Made Saints In Historic Ceremony
The Canonisation of John Paul II and John XXIII takes place in Rome in a historic day for Roman Catholics across the world.
新聞背景：
羅馬教皇弗朗西斯一世追封前教皇約翰·保羅二世(John Paul II)和約翰二十三世(John XXIII)為圣徒，這是迄今為止，羅馬天主教歷史上第一次雙追封儀式。
2014年4月27日，教皇弗朗西斯莊嚴(yán)宣布：“我們將神圣的約翰二十三世和約翰保羅二世追封為圣徒，這意味著他們會(huì)受到整個(gè)教會(huì)的崇敬。”
報(bào)道稱，來自世界各地的50萬名朝圣者聚集在圣彼得廣場(St. Peter's Square)周圍，參加這一精心策劃的活動(dòng)。同時(shí)，退休教皇本篤十六世( Benedict XVI)出席了此儀式。在位和退休教皇一起在公共場合參加慶祝儀式，這也是羅馬教廷前所未有的第一次。

From Saint Peters to the Tiber, pilgrim thronged roads radiating from the Vatican, the faithful clustered under ominous skies to witness an event with no equal, two living popes horning two predecessors. At the start of the 2-hour service, Francis warmly greeted the frail 87-year old Benedict, the pope emeritus, their embrace triggering a wave of applause.
As tradition dictates, the reigning pope would petition 3 times to bestow saint to John John XXIII and John Paul II.
After due deliberation of frequent prayer for the divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define blessed John XXIII and John Paul II, be saints, and we enroll them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church.
He then kissed relics of the two men and with that, their status was conferred. The service included psalms, hymns and gospel readings, then a homily in which Francis explained his decision to canonize john and John Paul the reformer and the traditionalist.
Those were two men of courage, filled with a holy spirit, and they bore witness before the church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy. They were priests, bishops and popes of the 20th century. They lived through the tragic events of the century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful.
Communion followed on the obligatory photo opportunities with the various delegations before Francis took to the mode of transport pioneered by Saint John Paul—the pope mobile, his deft handwork impressing the crowd as he waved and smiled in response to the cheers and thrown tributes.
And now 3.5 hours after the service, for a starter, this enormous crowd has started to melt into the streets around the Vatican City, a logistical feat in itself, for an event which has cost close to 5 million pounds to stage. The departing crowd showed signs of elation and exhaustion; many had had a sleepless night defending the best spot to watch history unfold.
The atmosphere was joyful, it was peaceful, it was a truly bless.
Oh, it was joyful, you know, like, just to be around the people and hear them singing.
Incredible, I really felt gifted to be here, so
John Paul II changed my life, so it was just a huge blessing to be here.
As the church continues to tackle declining membership in the west and its handling of clerical sex abuse cases, this event clearly buoy the faithful, its scale matching the enormous expectations.