Three popes – or it might even be four – will figure in an unprecedented ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday when Pope Francis will raise to sainthood two popular predecessors. He will use the carefully crafted occasion to showcase the new dynamism with which he is trying to reinvigorate a troubled Roman Catholic Church.
Up to one million worshippers including pilgrims and at least 24 heads of state or members of royalty are converging on Rome to witness the first canonisation of two popes at once: John XXIII, an Italian reformist who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and was known as the “Good Pope”, and the Polish-born John Paul II, the charismatic but conservative pontiff who died in 2005 after leading the Church for nearly 27 years.
Benedict XVI, who succeeded John Paul II and holds the title of pope emeritus after abdicating last year at the age of 85, may also attend the ceremony, a Vatican official said, noting his advanced years.
Crowds chanted santo subito – saint immediately – at John Paul II’s funeral and his German successor and fellow doctrinal conservative put him on the fast track to sainthood, waiving the usual obligation to wait five years before starting what is normally a long process.
That process, including the meticulous verification of miracles attributed to both men, began for John XXIII nearly half a century ago. But the current Argentine pontiff made his own mark by first authorising John’s sainthood without the required second miracle, then deciding last July to hold the joint canonisation.
The message he is sending has stirred vigorous debate. Francis, with his simplicity and humble appeal, is widely seen as in the mould of John XXIII. The latter was the first postwar pope to emerge from the confines of the Vatican, becoming known as a liberal by launching the reformist Second Vatican Council, which John Paul II and Benedict later sought to row back.
“The Church hopes that the choices of John XXIII and John Paul II for sainthood will unite both conservative and reformist groups within Catholicism,” said Rebecca Rist, a historian at Reading university in the UK.
While some analysts also talk of the “balanced ticket” promoted by Francis, the Vatican’s spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, prefers not to draw such distinctions. He said that for all three popes involved, “faith was born and lived with great simplicity”.
A gifted communicator who has shed some of the ritualised trappings of his predecessor, Francis, 77, also decreed that tomorrow’s ceremony would last just one day, in contrast to the three days of celebrations for the 2011 beatification of John Paul II.
This moment is not without controversy. Questions have been raised over the speed in promoting John Paul II to sainthood just nine years after his death. Lay commentators and Catholic groups defending the victims of clerical abuse have also raised doubts about his merits.
“Given that he presided over the Catholic Church during nearly three decades of a gruesome paedophilia scandal and grotesque cover-up, he ain’t no saint,” wrote Maureen Dowd, a New York Times columnist and graduate of Washington’s Catholic University.
The canonisations also fall on the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, giving Francis an opportunity to celebrate the opening up of the Church through his own direct approach of reaching out to the faithful. Francis says there is no “turning the clock back” on the teachings of the Council.
Since his election in March last year, Pope Francis has not changed the Church’s position on doctrinal issues, while opening debate by showing his compassion for gays and divorced Catholics. However, he has embarked on a radical reform of the Church’s institutions. after scandals exposing corruption and power plays within its administration
The reform process is proving to be slower than critics had hoped for. The focus so far has been on the Vatican’s financial institutions, although Francis has decided to preserve the role of its bank following efforts to come into compliance with international anti-money laundering standards. He has also created a new oversight body headed by George Pell, an Australian cardinal.
More steps to reform the opaque structure of the Church are expected to follow the pope’s meetings with his advisory council of eight cardinals next week.
“Francis is not the solution to all the problems that still all remain painfully open,” writes Massimo Franco, a veteran Vatican-watcher, in his latest book, The Vatican According to Francis.
But he adds: “He is, however, the strong, radical and surprising answer that allows these issues to be confronted with an authority and credibility that had been lost in the last years of Benedict XVI’s papacy.”
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