A group of people pray before a statue of the late Pope John Paul II, whose memory has cast a long shadow in every sense.
The former pontiff will be declared a saint on April 27 just nine years after his death – a record for modern times. Already mementos and images of the Polish pope can be found all over the Catholic world.
. CZESTOCHOWA, Poland. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
As pontiff, John Paul travelled to around 140 countries – in most cases marking their first papal visit.
Not only did he make the papacy more visible internationally, he was also credited with being instrumental in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 because of his steadfast defence of the Solidarity trade union in Poland.
Millions of people attended his funeral in April, 2005, and many cried "Santo Subito" or "Make him a saint immediately".
. Kielce, Poland. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
But though John Paul's image can be found all over the world, his canonisation is not without controversy.
Some say the decision to declare him a saint less than a decade after he died is too hasty. Critics accuse him of being too slow to grasp the seriousness of the sexual abuse crisis that emerged towards the end of his pontificate.
Nevertheless, more than a million people are expected to flock to Rome - many of them to the Vatican - for a ceremony at which Pope Francis will raise both him and Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, to sainthood.
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. Mexico City, Mexico. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
Smoke wafts around a picture of the late Pope John Paul II during a mass at the cathedral in Xochimilco, Mexico City.
. Mexico City, Mexico. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
Catholics gather around a wax model of the late pope in the cathedral.
. MANILA, Philippines. Reuters/Romeo Ranoco
Sculptor Dondon Awa works on a statue of John Paul at his workshop in Tayuman, metro Manila.
. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Franciscan friar Jorge Jacek Twarog, the rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in Argentina, walks by a monument to the late pontiff.
. Krakow, Poland. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj works on a bas-relief of John Paul near Krakow.
. MANILA, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
A shop worker poses with rosaries decorated with pictures of the former pope in Caloocan city, metro Manila.
. ROME, Italy. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
Images of the former pope are displayed in a shop in Rome.
. MANILA, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
A nun looks at an image of John Paul at a religious store in metro Manila.
. MADRID, Spain. REUTERS/Sergio Perez
A statue of the former pope is seen outside Almudena Cathedral in Madrid.