POPE Benedict XVI, right, has announced that he had begun the process for the sainthood of Pope John Paul II, right, overriding the usual five-year waiting period following the death of a possible candidate.
The Pope made the announcement in Latin during a meeting at the Basilica of St John Lateran with the Roman clergy.
Immediately following Pope John Paul's death on April 2, there were calls from the faithful for his sainthood.
The announcement came on the anniversary of an 1981 assassination attempt against John Paul in St Peter's Square at the hands of a Turkish gunman and the announcement drew a standing ovation from the priests.
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