Vatican officials are expecting the celebration of the canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII to be one of the largest events seen in Rome since the 2005 funeral of John Paul II.

The Religion New Service is reporting that as many as 100 heads of state are likely to attend the April 27 canonization of the two former pontiffs.

This event could very well dwarf the funeral of Pope John Paul which may have been the single largest gathering in Christian history with as many as four million mourners converging on Rome in 2005. About 80 presidents, prime ministers and monarchs attended the funeral Mass.

The canonization ceremony is also expected to easily surpass the number of people on hand for the 2011 Mass during which John Paul was beatified – which was estimated at one million.

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