Pope Francis is expected Monday to announce the date when he will make saints of two of contemporary Catholicism’s most important figures — Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. Together, the men ushered the church into modern times by, respectively, calling and then enacting the modernizing Second Vatican Council.
The announcement of the date in Rome on Monday, after a special meeting of cardinals, will set in place what experts predict will be a massive event, probably around Easter. John Paul II, who died in 2005 after 27 years as pope, was a towering global figure, credited with helping bring down communism in Europe. He is beloved especially by Catholic conservatives for affirming traditional church teachings on sexuality and gender, including prohibitions on female priests and contraception.
