The canonization of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli and of Karol Wojtyła was an unprecedented event of great interest to many people, not only Catholics, and it will certainly go down in history. Never before has a Bishop of Rome simultaneously proclaimed the sainthood of two of his predecessors, both very popular figures and very close to our own time: only nine years have passed since the death of Pope John Paul ii and 50 since since that of John xxiii. There was an additional exceptional circumstance: Francis invited Benedict xvi to the solemn liturgy.

John and John Paul, the two saints who have been canonized by Pope Francis, have something in common: a significant number of people wanted them to be proclaimed saints right after their death. In Roncalli’s case, it was not just the public that expressed a strong wish for this to happen; three hundred bishops signed a proposal asking Paul VI to proceed with John XXIII’s canonization by acclamation at the end of the Second Vatican Council.

On Sunday, two popes, John XXIII and John Paul II, have joined the ranks of formally canonized saints of the Catholic church. In doing so, they will bring the number of popes who have been officially recognized as saints to 80 (out of some 263 popes who have been in office, according to traditional lists).

Pope Francis hailed Saints John XXIII and John Paul II as “men of courage” and great faith, who listened to the Spirit of God, and “bore witness to God’s goodness and mercy” before the Church and the world

Jorge Mario Bergoglio canonized the two Popes during a solemn mass in St. Peter’s Square after embracing Benedict XVI. The crowd broke into applause when the Pope Emeritus made his appearance.

The meeting had already been included in the official schedule for the Pope’s trip to the Holy Land: at 10 am on Sunday 25 May--after President Abu Mazen’s courtesy visit--Pope Francis will meet and address Palestinian leaders in Bethlehem. But since yesterday, a new question has arisen in relation to this meeting: which Palestinian government will Bergoglio find before him when he visits? And, above all, will representatives of militant Islamic movement Hamas also be present at the meeting?

The papacies of John XXIII and John Paul II are connected in their dedication to God and to lives of priestly service, a cardinal who worked with both of the pontiffs stressed.

“The two Popes are linked above all by the fact that they were Popes, and Saint Popes, and this is connected with the deepness of their ministry, of a life totally dedicated to their priestly service,” said Cardinal Paul Poupard, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Cardinal Poupard worked at the Secretariat of State beginning in 1959, the second year of John XXIII’s papacy.

Francis baptized 10 people from six countries at the Easter vigil, and urged Christians to rediscover the source of their faith by “returning to our first love, in order to receive the fire which Jesus has kindled in the world and to bring that fire to all people”

"Vatican Insider" has interviewed the Ambassador of Tehran to the Holy See, Mohammad Taher Rabbani.“One of the Pope’s striking traits is the humility and love he feels for people.” This is how the ambassador, one of the first diplomats to present his letters of credence to the new Pope last year, talks to Vatican Insider about Francis’ first year as Pope and about the forthcoming visit to the Holy Land. Following is the text of the interview:

This May the Holy See is to present its initial report on the Convention against Torture (CAT) to the relevant UN committee. Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi confirmed this in a statement to journalists. Responding to their questions, Fr. Lombardi clarified that the Vatican would be presenting its report next month, alongside Cyprus, Lithuania, Guinea, Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Thailand and Uruguay.