President Rosen Plevneliev attended the ceremony for the canonisation of the Blessed Popes John XXIII and John Paul II as saints. The service took place in the Vatican and was led by the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
President Rosen Plevneliev described the day of the ceremony as a “special day” for believers around the world and especially for Bulgarians as both saints have a strong connection with Bulgaria. "Today is a celebration of human spirituality and faith. Let us always remember that one of them is called by many believers "the Bulgarian Pope", the President stated for Bulgarian media at the Vatican.
Rosen Plevneliev recalled that Pope John XXIII had nearly 10 years of diplomatic service in Bulgaria." He loved Bulgaria and we must not forget his words that wherever he is, in his window there will always be a candle lit for the Bulgarian people", said Plevneliev. In 1925 Pope Pius XI appointed him Apostolic Visitor to Bulgaria and subsequently he was given the rank of Bishop. "Obedience and Peace" was the motto of the servant of God. During his stay in Bulgaria until 1934 he visited Catholic communities in our country and promoted an attitude of respect for other Christian communities. After the earthquake in Bulgaria in 1928, he was actively involved in charity as noted in a booklet specially issued by the Holy See on the occasion of the ceremony. The life path of John XXIII is also connected to his contribution to saving many Jews during WWII.
The President urged people to remember the lifework of Pope John Paul II, who had a significant contribution in clearing the name of Bulgaria in connection with accusations towards our country in respect of his attempted assassination and granting the Bulgarian spiritual community the right to carry out Orthodox worship at the "SS. Vincent and Anastasius" church in Rome.
"Pope John Paul II is a symbol of the correct attitude to communism as such, but also to all distortions of world history, whether related to fascism or communism. The World has not achieved anything better than democracy and we need to be aware that democracy is precious and should be guarded. Pope John Paul II was a symbol for all of us because he was telling the first-person story of communism, to remember and to know", said Rosen Plevneliev. "Unfortunately, history tends to repeat itself if we are not clever enough to pass it on to future generations. It is symbolic that such a person who has this history, who knows well both communism and fascism, and all what we lived through in the XX century in Europe, was canonised as a saint. Hopefully, owing to his deeds, future generations will know the truth, history and will cherish the work of St. John XXIII and John Paul II", the President said."
During the ceremony in the Vatican the Bulgarian Head of State met with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of Hungary Janos Ader, the Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who were among the guests. The ceremony was attended by over 90 foreign delegations, state and government leaders from around the world and witnessed by thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s square, among them many Bulgarians. Bulgaria was represented by its ambassador to Rome Marin Raykov and to the Holy See, Prof. Kiril Topalov.