Pope Francis made history twice in one day with dual canonization

Franco Origlia / Getty Images

Pope Francis made history twice in one day with dual canonization
(Image credit: Franco Origlia / Getty Images)

Pope Francis has made a habit of breaking with tradition during the first year of his papacy, and on Sunday he continued his string of unprecedented actions by elevating two former papal predecessors to sainthood in the same ceremony.

Before an estimated crowd of 800,000, Francis canonized John XXIII and John Paul II, two of the church's most renowned leaders of the past century, calling them "men of courage." It was the first time two former popes were canonized simultaneously, hence the enormous crowd.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.