chanting, the public affirmation for a pope has not happened since the earl 7th century, more than 1400 years ago, when the faithful attended the mass of pope gregory i and spontaneously declared him great, and, the sense of the faithful, who knew this man, john paul ii, could in fact be declared a holy man who lived with virtue. even though pope benedict xvi waived the five-year waiting period, the canonical norms were carefully and diligently observed in this case, as in all cases and during the investigation, hundreds and h t hundreds of witnesses were interviewed to discuss john paul s life, writings were