Quote:Pope is joyous about beatifying John Paul II
(AP) 2 hours ago
VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that everyone who knew or admired John Paul II shares his joy that he will beatify his predecessor on May 1 a ceremony in St. Peter's Square that could bring 2 million people into Rome.
Beatification is the last major step before a Catholic can be considered for possible sainthood.
The ceremony, a week after Easter, is expected to draw huge crowds, according to Rome authorities rushing to ready the capital for the event. John Paul's funeral in 2005 saw nearly 3 million faithful flock to the Vatican.
"On May 1, I'll have the joy of proclaiming blessed the venerable John Paul II, my beloved predecessor," Benedict said, speaking from his studio window overlooking the square, where tourists and pilgrims gathered to receive his traditional Sunday blessing.
"All those who knew him, all those who esteemed and admired him, cannot help but rejoice with the church for this event," the pontiff said.
Many pilgrims will come from John Paul's homeland of Poland. Benedict told the faithful that Poles especially had been awaiting Friday's announcement about the beatification because John Paul had been "their guide in faith, in truth and in freedom."
The 1978-2005 papacy of the first Polish-born pope is credited with helping to bring the end in the late 1980s of decades of communist rule in Eastern Europe, particularly through his staunch championing of the Solidarity labor movement in Poland.