VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI is to declare five people saints next month and another 17 candidates are to be beatified soon — an indication that the Vatican shows no sign of slowing the process under the new pontiff.Benedict himself will preside over his first saint-making ceremony, canonizing the five in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 23, Vatican Radio reported Monday.
Among the five is Josef Bilczewski, the Polish archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine, who was greatly admired by Catholics, Orthodox and Jews alike during World War I, Vatican Radio said. The archbishop's life spanned the time during which Lviv was under Polish control, after which it reverted back to Ukraine.
Also being canonized is a priest from Lviv, Rev. Zygmunt Gorazdowski, who founded the Congregation for the Sisters of St. Joseph to care for the sick and poor. A Chilean Jesuit, the Rev. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, and Italians ...