Four Popes at One Time

Tomorrow, on April 27, there will be an event without precedent as two former popes will be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church and become saints. Adding to the liturgical glitz of the ceremony will be the attendance of two living popes. Both Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI plan to be in attendance.

They are expecting around 1 million people to be packed into Rome for the ceremony. Although, the number in attendance may be small compared to the global audience. According to Variety Magazine;

The unprecedented double canonisation event will be produced in 3D by the Vatican TV Center (CTV) in a partnership with Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia, BSkyB and Sky Deutschland payboxes, and Sony. The ceremony will also be beamed into 3D movie theatres across Europe and in North and South America, in what is being touted as the first convergence of HD, 3D and 4K technologies for such a high-profile multimedia 3D event.

 The Indepedent Catholic News also has information about viewing online.

According to the AP via gulfnews.com,They are expecting 93 official delegations from various countries. Among these will be 24 heads of state. Many of the royal houses of Europe will be represented. About twenty Jewish leaders from around the world will be attending.

The Vatican has set up an official website for the event. The official hashtag is #2popesaints.  Other information is available at the Holy See website.

They have also produced an official booklet for the event available here in portable document format. 

This will be an event of global significance. The world has embraced Pope Francis, the first New World pope. His down to earth ways have charmed many, even those who are not Roman Catholic. It will be interesting to watch the results of this man in front of such a large and multi-cultural audience.