April 28, 2014 - Two special Masses were celebrated in Rome on Monday in thanksgiving
for the canonization of Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II who were officially
proclaimed saints by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. Several hundred
thousand pilgrims from St. John Paul II’s homeland, Poland, filled the Vatican’s
St. Peter’s Square for a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the Archpriest
of Saint Peter’s Basilica, along with John Paul’s former secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw
Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland. Another Mass for pilgrims from John XXIII’s
native diocese of Bergamo, northern Italy, was celebrated in the Church of San Carlo
al Corso, where the future Pope, Angelo Gisueppe Roncalli was ordained a priest on
March 19, 1925. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Francesco Beschi of Bergamo.
In his homily, Cardinal Comastri noted that the canonization of St. John Paul
II, the ‘pope of the family’, was a necessary gift in an age when the family was
under attack and threatened. He noted that the "defense of human life" was at the
heart of his preaching and action, and cited several quotes including his famous
“cry of Agrigento” in southern Italy denouncing Mafia atrocities. Cardinal Comastri
also recalled John Paul’s vigorous efforts in trying to prevent the Gulf War. At
the start of the Mass, Cardinal Dziwisz greeted his fellow nationals in Polish, describing
St. John Paul ‘a son of the Poland and the Pope of Divine Mercy,” who put into practice
the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and also launched the Christian faith
into the third millennium. Cardinal Dziwisz, who served Karol Woytyla for some
40 years from before he became Pope John Paul II, also noted that for him Italy had
become a second homeland. “Surely today John Paul II is blessing Italy as well as
Poland and the entire world from above. All nations, cultures and languages have
found a place in his heart,” he said.