At 10:00am on Sunday, April 27, the Sunday of Divine Mercy, the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Saint Peter's Square. During this liturgy, the Pontiff canonized two of his predecessors: Blessed John XXIII who was Pope from 1958 to 1963; and Blessed John Paul II who was Pope from 1978 to 2005.
Concelebrating this Mass with the Holy Father were 150 Cardinals and 700 Bishops, as well as Pope emeritus Benedict XVI. In fact, the local press had a special name for this most special day: they called it the day of four popes since for the first time in history, the pope and his immediate predecessor were both present for the Canonization of two of their predecessors. Seated closest to Pope Francis at the altar were Cardinals Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals; Giovanni Battista Re, chosen from among the order of Cardinal Bishops; Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow; Agostino Vallini, Vicar for the Diocese of Rome and the Bishop of Bergamo, His Excellency, Francisco Beschi.
At the beginning of the celebration, Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by the postulators Father Giovangiuseppi Califano, OFM and Father Slawomir Oder presented the Holy Father with three petitions, then the Holy Father pronounced the Formula of Canonization by which he declared and proclaimed Saints, John XXIII and John Paul II.
First Petition
Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by the two postulators, asked the Holy Father to proceed toward the canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. Cardinal Amato addressed the Holy Father in the following words:
The Holy Father then invited all those who were present to pray:
Cardinal Amato then proceeded with the second petition: Most Holy Father, strengthened by unanimous prayer, the Holy Church more earnestly beseeches Your Holiness to enroll these her children, among the Saints.
To which the Pope responded: Let us then invoke the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, that he may enlighten our minds and that Christ the Lord may not permit his Church to err in a matter of such importance.
The entire assembly, which numbered more than one million voices, then joined in song to invoke the intercession of the Saints:
Third Petition
At the conclusion of the Litany of Saints, the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints continued:
Finally, on behalf of all those who were gathered, and in the name of the entire Church, Cardinal Amato addressed a word of gratitude to Pope Francis:
At the heart of this Sunday, which concludes the Octave of Easter and which Saint John Paul II wished to dedicate to Divine Mercy, are the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus.
He had already shown those wounds when he first appeared to the Apostles on the very evening of that day following the Sabbath, the day of the resurrection. But, as we have heard, Thomas was not there that evening, and when the others told him that they had seen the Lord, he replied that unless he himself saw and touched those wounds, he would not believe. A week later, Jesus appeared once more to the disciples gathered in the Upper Room. Thomas was also present; Jesus turned to him and told him to touch his wounds. Whereupon that man, so straightforward and accustomed to testing everything personally, knelt before Jesus with the words: My Lord and my God! (Jn 20:28).
The wounds of Jesus are a scandal, a stumbling block for faith, yet they are also the test of faith. That is why on the body of the risen Christ the wounds never pass away: they remain, for those wounds are the enduring sign of God’s love for us. They are essential for believing in God. Not for believing that God exists, but for believing that God is love, mercy and faithfulness. Saint Peter, quoting Isaiah, writes to Christians: by his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet 2:24, cf. Is 53:5).
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.
They were priests, and bishops and popes of the twentieth century. 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 – faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history; the mercy of God, shown by those five wounds, was more powerful; and more powerful too was the closeness of Mary our Mother.
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 (1 Pet 1:3,8). The hope and the joy which the risen Christ bestows on his disciples, the hope and the joy which nothing and no one can take from them. The hope and joy of Easter, forged in the crucible of self-denial, self-emptying, utter identification with sinners, even to the point of disgust at the bitterness of that chalice. Such were the hope and the 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.
This hope and this joy were palpable in the earliest community of believers, in Jerusalem, as we have heard in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42-47). It was a community which lived the heart of the Gospel, love and mercy, in simplicity and fraternity.
This is also the image of the Church which the Second Vatican Council set before us. John XXIII and John Paul II cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the Church in keeping with her pristine features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries. Let us not forget that it is the saints who give direction and growth to the Church. In convening the Council, Saint John XXIII showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit. He let himself be led and he was for the Church a pastor, a servant-leader, guided by the Holy Spirit. This was his great service to the Church; for this reason I like to think of him as the the pope of openness to the Holy Spirit.
In his own service to the People of God, Saint John Paul II was the pope of the family. He himself once said that he wanted to be remembered as the pope of the family. I am particularly happy to point this out as we are in the process of journeying with families towards the Synod on the family. It is surely a journey which, from his place in heaven, he guides and sustains.
May these two new saints and shepherds of God’s people intercede for the Church, so that during this two-year journey toward the Synod she may be open to the Holy Spirit in pastoral service to the family. May both of them teach us not to be scandalized by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves.
Concelebrating this Mass with the Holy Father were 150 Cardinals and 700 Bishops, as well as Pope emeritus Benedict XVI. In fact, the local press had a special name for this most special day: they called it the day of four popes since for the first time in history, the pope and his immediate predecessor were both present for the Canonization of two of their predecessors. Seated closest to Pope Francis at the altar were Cardinals Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals; Giovanni Battista Re, chosen from among the order of Cardinal Bishops; Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow; Agostino Vallini, Vicar for the Diocese of Rome and the Bishop of Bergamo, His Excellency, Francisco Beschi.
At the beginning of the celebration, Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by the postulators Father Giovangiuseppi Califano, OFM and Father Slawomir Oder presented the Holy Father with three petitions, then the Holy Father pronounced the Formula of Canonization by which he declared and proclaimed Saints, John XXIII and John Paul II.
First Petition
Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, accompanied by the two postulators, asked the Holy Father to proceed toward the canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. Cardinal Amato addressed the Holy Father in the following words:
Most Holy Father, Holy Mother Church earnestly beseeches Your Holiness to enroll Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II among the saints that they may be invoked as such by all the Christian faithful.
The Holy Father then invited all those who were present to pray:
Dear brothers, let us lift up our prayers to God the Father Almighty through Jesus Christ, that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all his saints, he may sustain with his grace the act which we now solemnly undertake. Following a moment of silent prayer, the Holy Father continued: We ask you Lord, graciously to accept the prayers of your people, that our devoted service may be pleasing to you and contribute to the growth of your Church. Through Christ our Lord.Second Petition
Cardinal Amato then proceeded with the second petition: Most Holy Father, strengthened by unanimous prayer, the Holy Church more earnestly beseeches Your Holiness to enroll these her children, among the Saints.
To which the Pope responded: Let us then invoke the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, that he may enlighten our minds and that Christ the Lord may not permit his Church to err in a matter of such importance.
The entire assembly, which numbered more than one million voices, then joined in song to invoke the intercession of the Saints:
Third Petition
At the conclusion of the Litany of Saints, the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints continued:
Most Holy Father, the Holy Church, trusting in the Lord's promise to send upon her the Holy Spirit of Truth, who in every age keeps the supreme Magisterium immune from error, most earnestly beseeches Your Holiness to enroll these, her elect, among the Saints.And in response, Pope Francis spoke the words of the Formula of Canonization:
For the honour of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother Bishops, we declare and define Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II to be saints and we enroll them among the Saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.As the hymn Iubilate Deo, Cantate Domino was sung in response, two reliquaries, containing relics of the two newly-named saints were then processed to places of honour near the altar.
Finally, on behalf of all those who were gathered, and in the name of the entire Church, Cardinal Amato addressed a word of gratitude to Pope Francis:
Most Holy Father, in the name of the Holy Church, I thank Your Holiness for making this proclamation and humbly request that you decree that the Apostolic Letter concerning the Act of Canonization be drawn up.The Holy Father responded: We do so decree it.
Homily of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the Canonization of
Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II
At the heart of this Sunday, which concludes the Octave of Easter and which Saint John Paul II wished to dedicate to Divine Mercy, are the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus.
He had already shown those wounds when he first appeared to the Apostles on the very evening of that day following the Sabbath, the day of the resurrection. But, as we have heard, Thomas was not there that evening, and when the others told him that they had seen the Lord, he replied that unless he himself saw and touched those wounds, he would not believe. A week later, Jesus appeared once more to the disciples gathered in the Upper Room. Thomas was also present; Jesus turned to him and told him to touch his wounds. Whereupon that man, so straightforward and accustomed to testing everything personally, knelt before Jesus with the words: My Lord and my God! (Jn 20:28).
The wounds of Jesus are a scandal, a stumbling block for faith, yet they are also the test of faith. That is why on the body of the risen Christ the wounds never pass away: they remain, for those wounds are the enduring sign of God’s love for us. They are essential for believing in God. Not for believing that God exists, but for believing that God is love, mercy and faithfulness. Saint Peter, quoting Isaiah, writes to Christians: by his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet 2:24, cf. Is 53:5).
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.
They were priests, and bishops and popes of the twentieth century. 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 – faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history; the mercy of God, shown by those five wounds, was more powerful; and more powerful too was the closeness of Mary our Mother.
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 (1 Pet 1:3,8). The hope and the joy which the risen Christ bestows on his disciples, the hope and the joy which nothing and no one can take from them. The hope and joy of Easter, forged in the crucible of self-denial, self-emptying, utter identification with sinners, even to the point of disgust at the bitterness of that chalice. Such were the hope and the 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.
This hope and this joy were palpable in the earliest community of believers, in Jerusalem, as we have heard in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42-47). It was a community which lived the heart of the Gospel, love and mercy, in simplicity and fraternity.
This is also the image of the Church which the Second Vatican Council set before us. John XXIII and John Paul II cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the Church in keeping with her pristine features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries. Let us not forget that it is the saints who give direction and growth to the Church. In convening the Council, Saint John XXIII showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit. He let himself be led and he was for the Church a pastor, a servant-leader, guided by the Holy Spirit. This was his great service to the Church; for this reason I like to think of him as the the pope of openness to the Holy Spirit.
In his own service to the People of God, Saint John Paul II was the pope of the family. He himself once said that he wanted to be remembered as the pope of the family. I am particularly happy to point this out as we are in the process of journeying with families towards the Synod on the family. It is surely a journey which, from his place in heaven, he guides and sustains.
May these two new saints and shepherds of God’s people intercede for the Church, so that during this two-year journey toward the Synod she may be open to the Holy Spirit in pastoral service to the family. May both of them teach us not to be scandalized by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves.
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