Pope Francis proclaimed sainthood Sunday for a pair of former pontiffs, John Paul II and John XXIII, thrilling multitudes who gathered in St. Peter’s Square and nearby to witness the unprecedented double canonization.
It marked the first time in the church’s more than 2,000-year history that two former popes had been canonized on the same day.
And, though the focus was on the two late pontiffs, the extravagant ceremony and Mass will probably provide another boost for the soaring popularity of Francis, the Argentine pope who has only held office for slightly more than a year.
I’m not sure what was “extravagant”. It was large, there being something over half a million people on hand. However, the music, choir and brass, wasn’t any fancier than a well-done large-church Easter service. The liturgy itself was straight Novus Ordo. Adjusting for scale, it was pretty much what I heard at my own parish later in the morning.