Ancient Vatican ceremony makes saints of John Paul II and John XXIII

    This past Sunday, Pope Francis canonized John Paul II and John XXIII, honoring sainthood on to them for changing the Roman Catholic Church in the 20th century. The event brought together two men that were viewed as different. By declaring both saints on the same day, the first Latin American pope had supposedly set out to please both reformers and traditionalists. John Paul II has been noted as the "first truly global pope, a charismatic conservative known for stirring oration and staring down communism".
    I remember hearing about the miracles he performed as a child and he truly was an inspirational religious figure that everyone knows about, Catholic or not. Some of the occurrences that stood out was how he survived the assassination attempt where he was shot in the abdomen and intestines.. to me, that sounds almost impossible for a man his age to survive. That alone is a miracle to me and a sort of sign that proposed that he still has more to offer as a pope to the world and perform the many more miracles he brought upon us all throughout the rest of his life time.
    It can take centuries to declare someone a saint, however, John Paul II’s took only nine years. The thought of  his sainthood began at his funeral, where shouts rang out from mourners of “Santo subito!”, meaning “Sainthood now!”
    Overall, I feel that making John Paul II a saint was a a great decision and very bold of Pope Francis to do, especially for stirring up some controversy for some by breaking tradition in honoring the saints in such a short time.

 -Monica Gryszowka

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-day-of-ancient-ceremony-to-create-two-modern-saints/2014/04/27/290f167f-c579-4694-885b-1f7c26d4d00e_story.html