Pope Francis has declared Popes John Paul II and John XXIII saints, in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

He praised his two predecessors as “men of courage” at the Vatican service, the first time in history that two popes have been canonised at the same time.

The Mass was attended by about 100 foreign delegations.

 The Catholic Church’s two newest saints were “popes of the twentieth century” and “were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Christ,” said Pope Francis on Sunday.
“They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them,” Pope Francis said in his homily. “For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful — faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history.”
Earlier in the Mass, also attended by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis read the formal proclamation of sainthood during the canonization rite. The crowd roared with applause upon hearing their names read in Latin in the official proclamation.

 Pope Francis described Saint John XXIII as “the pope of openness to the Spirit” and Saint John Paul II as “the pope of the family“, each description followed by applause.

 Pope Francis also underlined the deep faith of his two predecessors: “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.”
The two new saints “teach us to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy,” he concluded.

 Analysts say Francis is trying to balance the conservative legacy of John Paul with the reforming zeal of John.

Source: Vatican Radio