Erin FoxTraditionally a saint’s feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of their death
We now have two new feasts days to add to our calendars after the recent double canonisation – the feast of St John XXIII, Pope and the feast of St John Paul II, Pope. The first recorded canonisation of a saint is said to have been Ulrich of Augsburg by Pope John XV in 993. The process is lengthy; the first step of beatification requires evidence of one miracle after the death of the holy person. Two miracles are then required for the holy person to be named a saint. The reason we have saints is to create more local heroes as models for us to follow. Canonising one doesn't make them a saint; it officially recognises that God has already done so in his eyes.
We know that our new saints carried out great work not only during their papacies, but in their life time. Each had much in common, one example being that they were dedicated to human rights. St John XXIII made various efforts during the Holocaust to save refugees and St John Paul II was instrumental in bringing down Communism in his native Poland.
'Man of the Year'
John XXIII was the first Pope to be named Time magazine's 'Man of the Year'. (John Paul II received this title during his papacy in 1994 and Pope Francis also, last year). He was beatified by John Paul II in the year 2000 after the discovery of an ill woman being cured, and then Pope Francis approved him for sainthood for his work in calling together the Second Vatican Council.
John Paul II was one of our longest serving Popes, serving for just over 26 years, and he canonised more people in his pontificate than all of his predecessors put together. On December 19, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed John Paul II ‘Venerable’, stating that he had lived a heroic, virtuous life. In 2011 he was beatified after the confirmed miracle of curing a nun with Parkinson's disease, which he had also suffered from. Shortly after his beatification, another miracle was confirmed thus bringing forward his canonisation.
Traditionally a saint's feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his or her death. St John XXIII's feast day is celebrated on June 3, but St John Paul II's feast day is celebrated on the date of the inauguration of his pontificate, October 22.