Pilgrims flock to Rome for John Paul II ceremony

Towards sainthood

“I couldn’t miss this, I had to be a part of such a historic moment. We have only just arrived but the atmosphere’s great, it’s really exciting,” said Patricia Wocial, 48, who had come from Britain with her young daughters.

“It is their first pilgrimage and will certainly be an experience to remember,” she added as they stood among the crowds, gazing up at a vast poster of John Paul II hanging from the stone columns outside the Vatican. The weekend of prayer, which experts say could help the Vatican burnish an image badly tarnished by paedophile priest scandals, will kick off later on Saturday with a vigil in the ancient Roman arena Circus Maximus.

Some 500,000 pilgrims are expected to descend on the Italian capital for Sunday’s beatification, which will confer the status of “blessed” on the pope, who died in 2005 after a tumultuous pontificate lasting nearly 27 years.

In preparation, the late pope’s coffin has been brought out of its resting place in a crypt under Saint Peter’s basilica, and a phial of John Paul’s blood, drawn from him during his illness, has been prepared as a relic for veneration.

At least 100,000 people are expected to attend the vigil starting at 1800 GMT on Saturday evening to hear those who were close to John Paul II speak. Among the speakers will be Marie Simon-Pierre, the French nun whose miraculous healing from Parkinson’s disease is the official justification for John Paul II’s beatification after years of research by the Vatican.

The Vatican fast-tracked the beatification period after mourners at John Paul II’s funeral clamoured for him to be made a saint, drowning out critics who accused him of having ignored Church ills such as corruption and paedophilia. After Sunday’s beatification mass, which will be led by Pope Benedict in front of Saint Peter’s and shown on big screens in the surrounding area, pilgrims will be able to file past John Paul II’s coffin in the basilica.

Among the attendees at the mass will be Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski—part of a major Polish delegation for the late Karol Wojtyla.