April 27, 2014 is a big day for the Catholics all over the world.  On this day, the Vatican will declare not just one but two popes to become saints.  Pope John Paul II and Pope John Xxiii will be canonized together on said date.  Their canonization will be a historical event for the Catholic church.

Pope John Paul II was known for his being a conservative devotee while Pope John Xxiii as a liberal champion.  Although the two have different contributions in the improvement of the Catholic Church, the former by focusing toward a more centralized church and the latter by opening the Church toward modernization, both have influenced and inspired hundreds or thousands of Catholics that led them to acquiring the status of being saints.  To be canonized, the phenomenon of two miracles are required.  However, Pope John XXIII was credited only one for a second miracle was waived by Pope Francis while Pope John Paul II was recognized for two miracles he performed.

 

According to Christian Today, "the ceremony is being called a completely unprecedented event in the history of the Church as four popes are symbolically united for the first time."  The twin canonization of the two popes will be led by Pope Francis and predecessor Emeritus Pope Benedict.

 

It is expected that millions of pilgrims will appear at St. Peter's Square in Rome on Sunday.  Be that as it may, still millions of Catholics will be unable to witness in person the event in Rome.  Hence, the Vatican decided to live stream the event in a broader capacity.  The canonization may be viewed in 3D movie theaters in 20 different countries for free.  Not only that, this historical event will be all over social media sites in order to reach even more millions of people.  To this aim, David Bush, marketing director of Sony Europe said, “Our wish is that it helps to bring the emotion of the event to all of those many millions of people and the world who want to physically be there.  That is the goal of technology — to try and replicate the experience of being in St. Peter’s Square.” (source: huffingtonpost)

Watch the twin canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII on April 27, 2014 at 9.30 a.m. CEST/ 3.30 a.m. ET / 12:30 a.m. PT.  Watch online the live stream broadcast for free via the recently made official website.