John Paul II and John the XXIII will no longer have the prefix of “Pope”, but they will have the prefix of “Saint”.

John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła, was from a small town in Poland called Wadowice, which would eventually make him the first non-Italian Pope since the year 1523! John XXIII was born in the village of Sotto Il Monte, Italy.

John Paul II and John XXIII were ordained on November 1^st 1946 and August 10^th, 1909, respectively. They were elected to the Papacy on October 22^nd, 1978 and October 28^th, 1958, also respectively.

On Sunday, April 27^th, John Paul II and John XXIII became members of the communion of saints at the canonization ceremony held in Vatican City by the current Pope, Pope Francis.

John Paul II was proclaimed venerable on December 19^th, 2009; was beatified on May 1^st, 2011; and then was canonized on April 27^th, 2014, as mentioned earlier. The amount of time it took for John Paul II to go through the process of being venerable to receiving sainthood was extremely fast, as most Saints go decades after death until they receive their titles as Saints.

John Paul XXIII was proclaimed venerable on December 20^th, 1999; was beatified on September 3^rd, 2000, and then canonized on April 27^th, along with John Paul II. John XXIII died nearly fifty years ago, which helps put how fast John Paul II’s canonization process was.

To think that John Paul II lived, died, and became a saint in our lifetime is truly something special. John XXIII’s canonization is also inspiring, with his crowning achievement, instigating the Second Vatican Council, being recognized and accepted as the most important time in recent Church’s history.