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Make History at the Vatican with Avventure Bellissime this April!

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Millions of Catholic faithful from around the globe are planning Italy vacations this April to witness an historic ceremony in Rome set for the week after Easter Sunday.

 

On April 27 Pope Francis will declare Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II, two of his predecessors, saints. Both men were legendary rulers of the Roman Catholic Church during the last century, known for their roles shaping the modern church, working for world peace, and reaching out to the faithful. The date is auspicious, known as Divine Mercy Sunday – a feast day established by the much-loved Blessed John Paul II.

Avventure Bellissime - Basilica di San Pietro, Roma

 

Pope Francis, who has quickly shown himself to be a man of the people like the two he will proclaim saints, has spoken out time and again during the first year of his pontificate about God’s mercy and forgiveness for all who seek it. On the way back from World Youth Day in Brazil last summer, Pope Francis told journalists on the plane that Pope John Paul’s promotion of Divine Mercy Sunday showed understanding that the world needs a new “age of mercy.”

 

Millions waiting to witness the joy in Rome

 

Expect historic St. Peter’s Square outside the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica this Divine Mercy Sunday to be filled with millions of people from around the world, young and old. News broadcasts will reach millions more as the much-anticipated event is watched across all time zones and by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

 

To be declared a saint is a lengthy process of evaluation. The church does not “make” a saint through the process, but rather recognizes what God has done.

 

The first step is to be proclaimed “venerable” and the next step is to be proclaimed “blessed” or beatified, which requires either evidence of a miracle after death or martyrdom for the faith. The final step following beatification is canonization, when someone is declared a saint. Usually this happens after there is evidence of a second posthumous miracle but Pope Francis has decided to bend this rule for Blessed John XXIII.

 Avventure Bellissime - Rome Tour Italy - The Vatican

Will two living Popes honour two previous Popes?

 

A Vatican official recently said that retired Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope in 600 years to retire when he stepped down last year, might join Pope Francis at the ceremony: “There’s no reason — either doctrinal or institutional — that he couldn’t participate in a public ceremony,” the Rev. Federico Lombardi said in media reports. “I don’t have any reason to exclude it.”

 

However, given the way the Pope Emeritus has chosen to stay “hidden from the world” at a monastery it is not certain if he will attend.

 

The canonization of the two popular 20th Century pontiffs is seen by analysts as a message that Pope Francis wants to show spiritual continuity in their papacies:

 

Blessed John XXIII was responsible for the Second Vatican Council and Blessed John Paul II continued the ideas introduced during those 1962-65 meetings. Pope Francis has prayed at the tombs of both men, notably on the anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s death in 2013.

 

Courageous men who worked for peace

 

Blessed John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli into a farming family in northern Italy in 1881. He was ordained a priest in 1904 and served as a stretcher bearer during the First World War. When peace was restored he became a papal diplomat, a position that helped him work with the German ambassador to Turkey to save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people during the Second World War. After the war he was made cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953. He was elected pope at age 77, convened the Second Vatican Council during his papacy, and was very involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Known as “Good Pope John,” he died on June 3, 1963.

 

Blessed John Paul II was born in Wadowice, Poland and lost both his mother, older brother, and father by the time he was 20. He was a student during the years the Nazis occupied Poland and became a priest. In 1978 the young Polish cardinal was elected Pope at the age of 58 – the first non-Italian pontiff since the 15th Century. Taking the name Pope John Paul II, he travelled the world throughout his 26 years as ruler of the Catholic Church and became known as the “Pilgrim Pope.” A charismatic outdoorsman, Pope John Paul II is credited with ending Communism first in his native country and then elsewhere. He founded World Youth Days, which drew millions of young Catholics and continue as his legacy. When he lay dying in 2005, thousands of young people filled St. Peter’s Square, praying and singing for him. More than 1.5 million people filled the same square when he was beatified in 2011.

 

What is a saint?

 

For Christians in the Roman Catholic tradition, saints are honoured as examples of holy Christians to emulate and aspire to be like. Many Christians from other faiths mistakenly believe that Catholics pray to saints; on the contrary Catholics pray with saints the way they would with others on earth.

 Avventure Bellissime - Sistine Chapel - Rome Tour, Michelangelo

Catholic apologists explain that because Christians believe in eternal life the saints are alive and can offer prayers before the throne of God. The idea of sainthood was practiced by the earliest Christians, who sought intercession from Christians who had died. This was not a new idea; long before this prophets and holy people were honoured with shrines in the Jewish tradition.

 

Catholic Christians may seek the prayers of a saint they feel drawn to or a saint they feel would understand a particular problem and whose prayers would be particularly effective – for example St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, for a sick pet or St. Peregrine, patron saint of cancer patients, for someone battling cancer.

 

Are you planning to join the throngs of pilgrims at St. Peter’s Square this April?

 

Enjoy Avventure Bellissime’s illuminating and entertaining small group tour (maximum 12 people) of the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel or explore Rome with our very popular Small Group Walking Tours of Ancient Rome.We invite you to read reviews shared on TripAdvisor by past clients here.


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