梵蒂岡將教宗約翰保羅二世封聖

The Vatican says the late Pope John Paul the Second will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic church.

Church officials announced on Friday that Pope Francis has approved sainthood for the Polish-born pontiff, who died eight years ago. The pope also decided to canonize Pope John the 23rd, who led the church during a five-year period of reorganization, until 1963.

Pope John Paul was extremely popular during his 27-year papacy. A Vatican statement says his "love for young people brought him to establish World Youth Days." He is also credited for encouraging dialogue with representatives of other religions, including Jews.

Pope John Paul was succeeded by Pope Benedict, a German cleric who resigned earlier this year and was replaced by Pope Francis, who had been a cardinal in Argentina. The three popes were the first non-Italians elected to lead the world's Roman Catholics in hundreds of years.

The Vatican paid tribute to the late Pope John the 23rd as "meek," "gentle, enterprising and courageous." During World War Two, he was instrumental in helping to get news from prisoners of war to their families.

There is no word yet on when they will be canonized, or consecrated as saints, but it has been reported the ceremonies could be scheduled before the end of this year.梵蒂岡說，已故教宗約翰保羅二世將被冊封爲羅馬天主教聖人。

天主教會官方星期五宣佈，教宗方濟已經批將8年前離世的波蘭裔教宗保羅聖人身份。教宗還決定冊封教宗約翰二十三世爲聖人，他在羅馬天主教會五年重組時期擔任教宗，直至1963年逝世。

教宗保羅二世在其擔任教宗的27年任內享有極高的聲望。梵蒂岡的一份聲明說，“他對年輕人的愛推動他創立了世界青年節。”他還因鼓勵與包括猶太教在內的其他宗教代表對話而備受稱讚。

教宗保羅二世的繼承人是德國裔教宗本篤，他今年早些時候辭職。繼任教宗方濟曾擔任阿根廷紅衣主教。這三位教宗改變了數百年來羅馬天主教教宗均爲意大利人的歷史。

梵蒂岡讚揚已故教宗約翰二十三世爲“和藹”、“溫柔、富於進取和勇敢精神。”二戰期間，約翰二十三世幫助把戰俘的消息傳遞給他們的家人。

梵蒂岡沒有透露封聖典禮的時間。不過有報道說，典禮或在年底前舉行。