Catholic Fire

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Blessed John Paul II, who will be canonized on April 27, 2014 -- Divine Mercy Sunday. He was born Karol Josef Wojtyla in Wadowice, a city 50 kilometers from Cracow, on May 18, 1920, to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska. He was baptized on June 20, 1920, in the parish church of his town. He attended elementary and high school in Marcin Wadowita in Wadowice, after which, Karol enrolled in Krakow’s Jagiellonian University in 1938 and in a school for drama until 1939 when the university closed. The young Karol had to work in a quarry for four years. In his desire to answer his call to the priestly life, he began courses in the clandestine seminary of Cracow in 1942. The seminary then was being run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, the Archbishop of Cracow. While studying for the priesthood, Karol Wojtyla was one of the pioneers of the “Rhapsodic Theatre,” also an underground organization. The major seminary of Cracow re-opened after the Sec...

September 30, 2013. (Romereports.com) It's official. Pope Francis has announced that he will canonize both John Paul II and John XXIII, on April 27th, 2014. The date is quite symbolic. It coincides with the Feast Day of Divine Mercy, which has a strong connection to John Paul II. The Polish pontiff was the first to mark that celebration and he passed away on the day in which the Church celebrated that very Feast Day back in 2005. At first it was believed that Pope Francis would canonize his predecessors on December 8th, but that date was later moved to April 27th, because milder temperatures will make it easier for pilgrims to travel to Rome.

September 29, 2013. (Romereports.com) Monday September 30th: That's the date when Pope Francis is expected to announce exactly when John Paul II and John XXIII will be declared saints of the Catholic Church. So far, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has only said that they will both be canonized on the same date. The Congregation also said that the ceremony will take place in 2014, but it really hasn't given any more details.   Interestingly, the person who has revealed the most is the Pope himself. On board his papal flight from Brazil to Rome, he told journalists that the canonization date will most likely be on Sunday April 27th, which marks the feast day of Divine Mercy. Ample time is also needed to work with local authorities, to they can plan accordingly for the hundreds of thousands of people who are expected to travel to Rome. In the case of John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis waved the requirement of a second miracle, which...