Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will attend the Mass of canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII, the Holy See confirmed Saturday, according to Vatican Radio.
Benedict XVI, who will be
attending at the invitation of Pope Francis, will not be at the altar,
but will figure among the cardinals and bishops.
The two canonization
candidates share an improbable path to sainthood: they both rose from
very humble beginnings to lead the Roman Catholic church.
John XXIII (1881-1963) --
known as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli before he became Pope -- was one of
13 children born into a family of Italian peasants, farmers from a tiny
village in the country's north, before being sent away to study for the
priesthood at the age of 11.
John Paul II (1920-2005),
born Karol Jozef Wojtyla, was brought up in a grimy industrial town in
Poland and raised by his soldier father after his mother died when he
was just eight. He spent his formative years living under first Nazis,
then Communists.
No comments:
Post a Comment