(Vatican Radio) Tens of thousands of people are continuing to descend on St Peter’s
Square and surrounding vantage points for the Canonization Mass of Pope John XXIII
and Pope John Paul II.The celebration is being presided over by Pope Francis and will
begin at 10 am Rome time in St Peter’s Square.
All through the night and into
the early hours of this morning people from all around the world have been holding
prayer vigils, playing music and soaking up the atmosphere of this unique event.
A
night of prayer was held in many Churches around the city while members of the Polish
community held a vigil in the city’s Piazza Navona.
Many people including parents
with their children had slept out under the night sky near the St Peter’s Square and
could be seen waking early to prepare breakfast.
Others were cramming into
coffee bars near St Peter’s Square to get that last cup of coffee before the ceremony,
while street vendors continue to do a roaring trade selling images of these two soon
to be Saints.
For those who can’t make it to the Square there are big screens
located around the city including at Castel Sant Angelo which is just a stone’s throw
from St Peter’s.
The flags that many pilgrims are holding, as they try and
keep their groups together, denote the vast distance they have travelled to be in
Rome. There are flags from Brazil, Argentina, the United States, as well as the thousands
of flags from Blessed Pope John Paul II’s homeland of Poland. Pope John XXIII is
well represented too with are large contingent from Bergamo present in the Square.
The sheer scale of how much technology has moved on from the time of these
two Pontiffs is very much in evidence, because not only are the crowds using their
cameras to record the event but tablets, and smart phones are being used to their
full advantage by many here in the city to help tell the story of this day in Rome.
It
hasn’t all been plain sailing though, the Italian Red Cross has been dealing with
people who have collapsed due to the large number of crowds and Civil Protection officials
are continuing to give out bottles of water to ensure pilgrims are well hydrated.
Those
in the Square told Vatican Radio that they just had to be here for such an historic
event. One pilgrim summed up the atmosphere by saying that seeing so many people celebrating,
meeting other cultures, and the sense of harmony apparent is the culmination of what
these two Pope’s were working for. Listen to Lydia O’Kane talking to pilgrims in St
Peter’s Square. Listen