Bangalore celebrates beatification of Pope John Paul II

BANGALORE: The Catholic Church in Bangalore celebrated the beatification of Blessed Pope John Paul II on Wednesday at a special Holy Mass at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral.
At the occasion attended by hundreds of Christians, Rev Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore, who attended the beatification ceremony at the Vatican on May 1, shared his experience.This ceremony took the Pope one step closer to sainthood.
"From the time his beatification was announced, I had an intense desire to go and attend the ceremony. The three-hour ceremony was so powerful that when his picture was unveiled, we felt we were among saints and angels," said Rev Moras who was appointed archbishop by the late Pope.
"The previous day, there was a vigil with a three-hour prayer and presentation on his life which included his visits to India. The beatification was presided over by Pope Benedict XVI and there were 150 cardinals, thousands of bishops, priests and 15 lakh people," he said.
At the ceremony here, held on the late Pope's birthday, his picture was unveiled and there were tributes to his service. Fourteen people were ordained as priests.
Pope John Paul II was the head of the church from 1978 till his death in 2005.