Former Pope is now bLessed

Pope John Paul II is beatified in front of an audience of 1.5 million, the biggest event hosted by the Vatican since two million people attended his funeral

Former Pope is now bLessed

Pope John Paul II is beatified in front of an audience of 1.5 million, the biggest event hosted by the Vatican since two million people attended his funeralu00a0

Lauding John Paul II as a giant of 20th century history as well as a hero of the church, Pope Benedict XVI moved his towering predecessor one step closer to sainthood yesterday in a celebratory mass that drew more than a million people to Rome. "He was witness to the tragic age of big ideologies, totalitarian regimes, and from their passing John Paul II embraced the harsh suffering, marked by tension and contradictions, of the transition of the modern age toward a new phase of history, showing constant concern that the human person be its protagonist," Benedict said, speaking before the largest crowds to swell Saint Peter's Square since John Paul's funeral in 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI arrives for the beatification ceremony of Pope
John Paul II in St. Peter's square in the Vatican. Around1.5 million
people came together to celebrate the moment

At the Mass, Benedict declared John Paul "blessed," meaning that he is able to be publicly venerated.
He also greeted Sister Marie Simone-Pierre, a French nun who said that she recovered from Parkinson's disease after praying to John Paulu00a0-- a cure that Benedict declared miraculous. An additional miracle is required for sainthood. An estimated 1.5 million people turned out for yesterday's celebration, many of them camping out overnight to be sure to participate.

During the mass, a tapestry of John Paul based on a 1989 photograph was unfurled from the balcony of Saint Peter's, showing the Polish pontiff with a twinkle in his eye and a slightly wry smile, the John Wayne of the modern papacy. Benedict waived the traditional five-year wait to begin the beatification trial, which began just weeks after John Paul's death.

'He will be missed'
But in spite of the scandal and what some see as questions in the historical record, for many, the late pope's memory remains very real. "I miss him, so very much," said Cristiana Arru, a lawyer from Rome who grew up near the Vatican and came often to see the pope celebrate mass. Her eyes welled up with tears. "I still feel as though I've been orphaned."

Pope Benedict XVI kisses the casket of Pope John Paul II. The
casket will be on view overnight for all

"Anyone who was in the piazza when he spoke felt as though he was speaking directly to them," she said. "He was a very empathetic person." In a 21st-century twist on an ancient tradition, Benedict kissed a reliquary in the form of an olive branch, holding a test tube filled with some of John Paul's blood, saved by a Rome hospital in case the former pontiff ever needed a blood transfusion. After the mass, thousands waited in line to enter the Basilica to kiss the closed casket holding John Paul, which will be on view overnight before being placed in a side chapel next to Michelangelo's "Piet ."

Guest list scandal
Royalty and presidents attended a Vatican ceremony for John Paul II yesterday, including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Some quibbled over the front-row presence of Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, currently embroiled in a sex scandal which prompted the Church this year to call on Italy's leaders to renounce playboy lives and act responsibly.