Preparing for sainthood

Preparing for sainthood

Wadowice, Poland
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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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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

Smoke wafts around a picture of the late Pope John Paul II during a mass at the cathedral in Xochimilco, Mexico City.

Catholics gather around a wax model of the late pope in the cathedral.
. Mexico City, Mexico. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Catholics gather around a wax model of the late pope in the cathedral.

Sculptor Dondon Awa works on a statue of John Paul at his workshop in Tayuman, metro Manila.
. MANILA, Philippines. Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

Sculptor Dondon Awa works on a statue of John Paul at his workshop in Tayuman, metro Manila.

Franciscan friar Jorge Jacek Twarog, the rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in Argentina, walks by a monument to the late pontiff.
. 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.

Sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj works on a bas-relief of John Paul near Krakow.
. Krakow, Poland. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj works on a bas-relief of John Paul near Krakow.

A shop worker poses with rosaries decorated with pictures of the former pope in Caloocan city, metro Manila.
. MANILA, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

A shop worker poses with rosaries decorated with pictures of the former pope in Caloocan city, metro Manila.

Images of the former pope are displayed in a shop in Rome.
. ROME, Italy. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Images of the former pope are displayed in a shop in Rome.

A nun looks at an image of John Paul at a religious store in metro Manila.
. MANILA, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

A nun looks at an image of John Paul at a religious store in metro Manila.

A statue of the former pope is seen outside Almudena Cathedral in Madrid.
. MADRID, Spain. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

A statue of the former pope is seen outside Almudena Cathedral in Madrid.

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