A statue of Pope John Paul II is seen outside the Blessed John Paul II Shrine in Washington

A statue of Pope John Paul II is seen outside the Blessed John Paul II Shrine in Washington

A statue of Pope John Paul II is seen outside the Blessed John Paul II Shrine in Washington, January 24, 2014. Two giants of Roman Catholicism in the 20th century will become saints on April 27, 2014 at an unprecedented twin canonisation that has aroused both joy and controversy in the 1.2 billion-member Church. Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and called the modernising Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II, who reigned for nearly 27 years before his death in 2005 and whose trips around the world made him the most visible pope in history, will be declared saints by Pope Francis. Picture taken January 24, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES – Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY)

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