The focus is on Rome today as two popes - John XXIII and John Paul II - were elevated as saints in the Catholic Church by Pope Francis at Mass at 10 a.m. Rome time.
Many Catholics and others are celebrating the canonizations, including some in Schuylkill County who had been able to see Pope John Paul II in person and others who had the opportunity to meet him one-on-one.
The canonizations of the 20th century "Vicars of Christ" mark the first time two popes were canonized at the same time, along with being additionally unique in that there are two popes who are alive at the same time, the second being Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963) was pope from 1958 to 1963 and called Vatican Council II. Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005) was the head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. He traveled more miles around the world than any other pope, called for the creation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, began World Youth Day and was the third longest-reigning pontiff in the almost 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
According to the Eternal Word Television Network website, "By the Rite of Canonization the Supreme Pontiff, by an act which is protected from error by the Holy Spirit, elevates a person to the universal veneration of the Church. By canonization, the Pope does not make the person a saint. Rather, he declares that the person is with God and is an example of following Christ worthy of imitation by the faithful. A Mass, Divine Office and other acts of veneration, may now be offered throughout the universal Church.
"If the saint has some universal appeal, he may be added to the general calendar of the Church as a Memorial or Optional Memorial. If the appeal is localized to a region of the world, a particular nation, or a particular religious institute, the saint may be added to the particular calendars of those nations or institutes, or celebrated by the clergy and faithful with a devotion to the saint with a votive Mass or Office."
Debbie Walker, Mahanoy City, had two opportunities to see John Paul II in person, the first in 1993 when she attended the eighth World Youth Day in Denver. The second was in 1995 when she attended a papal audience in Rome. The Denver trip was sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, and Walker went with three teenagers from the ACTION Youth Group and other adults, including diocesan Bishop Thomas Welsh. WYD was from Aug. 10 to 16, with the Pontifical Mass on Aug. 15, which was when she saw the pope.
"It was a phenomenal experience, being at World Youth Day," said Walker, who has some memorabilia from the visit including a papal-blessed rosary and the program book.
"On the Saturday before the Sunday Mass, we saw a video greeting at the vigil Mass, and then on Sunday, he celebrated the Mass," Walker said. "It was a really cool time. There were 400,000 people there. Being at a Mass celebrated by the pope was an experience of a lifetime. To be in the same area that he was in, a man who was such of friend of young people, was incredible. There were all these kids chanting, ''JPII, we love you!' It was amazing to have the Holy Father, the head shepherd up there celebrating Mass like our priests do in our churches. It is something I will never forget."
Walker added, "One of his comments during the homily was, and I still use this comment today, ''Have the courage to be a saint.' I just think that is such a cool quote for us all and to use him as our example."
Walker also saw John Paul II in Rome in 1995, attending one of his general audiences on Wednesday. She had traveled in June to Rome though a trip sponsored by St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Pottsville, which was mainly for sightseeing. One week before, Mother Teresa of Calcutta has visited Mahanoy City, and now a week later Walker saw her again.
"When we went to Rome, we saw her in her little car and we were shouting, ''We're from Mahanoy City. We decorated for you,' " Walker said.
Originally from Saint Clair, the Rev. Christopher M. Zelonis met John Paul II in 2003 on a trip to Rome with fellow seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near Philadelphia. Zelonis is assistant pastor at Holy Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church in Reading.
"There were about 30 to 35 of us who went over to Rome, and Father Frederick Miller gave us what would be called a whirlwind tour of the churches," Zelonis said.
The seminarians visited with the pope on Jan. 4, the memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native born American to be canonized a saint.
"We came in and got to meet him individually," Zelonis said. "He had rosaries for us, and then we got together around him and sang a hymn or tribute song, almost like a Catholic 'For he's a jolly good fellow.' "
The song was "Domine, Salvum Fac."
"We sang, ''Domine, salvum fac patrem nostrum, Ioannem Paulum, et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus Te,' which means, ''Lord, save our father John Paul, and hear us on the day we call upon You!' " he said. "After singing, we left, most of us walking on air. We were probably in his presence about a half hour."
In 1993, Zelonis also saw John Paul II at World Youth Day in Denver when he was "16 going on 17," as he described it.
"It was the summer before my senior year at Nativity," he said. "Priests from the diocese went on the trip, including then Father (Edward) O'Connor, now a monsignor. I was pretty well on-deck in my mind to be in the seminary, and I was in the process, and I submitted my application for the seminary in October of that year."
Seeing the pope in person in Denver provided the final inspiration to follow his vocation to the priesthood.
"That experience no doubt cemented it for me," Zelonis said. "It was the experience of young Catholics united with priests and bishops in such a joyful occasion and witnessing for ourselves John Paul's love for the youth. When he was on stage and in one spontaneous moment the chant rose up from the crowd, ''John Paul II, we love you.' And he replied, ''John Paul II loves you!' You were waiting for someone behind him to come up and dump a container of Gatorade on him. The excitement of the day was encouraging to me."
Another local priest who also met John Paul II is Monsignor Edward O'Connor, pastor of St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, who had a statue of John Paul II placed in the church on Friday.
"Awhile back, some parishioners who have great devotion to John Paul II had approached me and given donations towards the statue," O'Connor said Friday. "We've ordered it and it's coming from Italy and it's supposed to be arriving today, just in time for the canonization."
The statue, which is four feet, eight inches tall, was delivered and placed in the front of the church to the right side of the altar by the door. It is about the same size as the statues of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
"We used to have the Pieta there until we moved the tabernacle, and it has been empty there since then," he said. "We've had the pictures of the new pope, but that's where the statue will be placed."
O'Connor met John Paul II in 1987.
"I was in Rome and had the privilege of attending his morning Mass and concelebrating with him in his chapel," he said. "He had the practice of having about 30 or 40 people at that Mass and had the priests who were there to concelebrate with him. Then he would come out after the Mass and greet everybody, so I had the great honor of meeting him for a few minutes. It was a tremendous experience."
When asked what his impression of what the pope was like, O'Connor said, "He was totally engaging. I will never forget that moment. He communicated so deeply with his eyes. I only spoke a few words to him for two or three minutes, but he was totally attentive to me as an individual. He greeted me and spoke with me. I told him we were from the Diocese of Allentown, and I was amazed when he said right after that, ''In Pennsylvania,' in English. We greeted with a handshake and gave me a rosary, which was in the habit of doing. It was a wonderful experience. You could tell he was such a holy person."
About John XXIII, he said, "I was younger but I do remember Pope John. I was in third grade when he died. He was a great, great gift to the Church, too."