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They take that from the bishops and the priests there. well, of course, at one level, communion refers to the hosts, the bread that the faithful are receiving that catholic believe has been transformed into the body of jesus christ. and so, when we talk about receiving communion, that s what we usually mean. but of course, communion also has a broader sense, meaning the kind of unity of the church, the unity of the faithful. and we also talk, of course, in catholic tradition about the communion of saints, the idea that saints are kind of the fabric that knits the church together, you know, through time and across space. and this is a great moment in which two new members of that communion of saints have been formally recognized as such. popes john xxiii and john paul ii. and you mentioned earlier, delia, that john paul ii had this great devotion to the communion of saints, and of course, that s right. you ll remember in one of his ....
Receiving communion, whether that rule ought to be changed and whether those folks ought to be welcomed back into communion. so, this issue of what it takes to come to the table has been an issue throughout 2,000 years of catholic life and remains one today. absolutely. amara? i want to ask you, because we re talking about unity as one of the themes here. and with all the complexity and politics within the catholic church, do you think that this canonization will actually help unite the catholics within the church and around the world? well, i think the most immediate effect, amara, it probably has, is for, really since the election of john paul ii in 1978, there has been a strong tendency in catholic life, both among the kind of intellectual wing of the church, and even at the catholic grassroots, to sort of pit john xxiii and john paul ii against one another, as if john xxiii ....
Part of the mass, which is the most important part of the catholic mass. it s the eucharistic service, in which the pope will bless what catholics believe is the body and blood of jesus. he turns the bread and wine into the body and blood through these prayers. it s something called tr transubstanceation in the catholic church, and that s what he ll be doing now at the altar. i bet delia a dollar earlier today she wasn t going to be able to work the word transubstanciation in. well done. and the key thing about this eucharist is the chanting of the litany of the saints will for the first time include the new saints which have just been canonized today. yes, and that s the point, earl, that now that they are saints, the pope can actually call on them during these ....
Family, and that is something that pope francis has already said he would like to see, and that s a big theme for the catholic church this year. as we mentioned, they ll be having a meeting in october, worldwide bishops coming to rome to discuss some of the issues of the family, including communion for divorced and remarried catholics and other situations which catholic families find themselves in today. and delia, we re watching now, as people there receive communion, we expect pope francis to recite a prayer and possibly make a statement and speak to everyone listening and watching. i m wondering if the pope is likely to use that platform now to drop any hints or to push or nudge forth any changes he may want to bring, or is that something likely to be done behind closed doors and behind the scenes? well, we ve seen that this is a pope who s not afraid to speak ....
Celebrating with pope francis. they will also be at the left-hand side of the ator, but on the lower part. you can t see that now. 600 priests serving communion there to the faithful in st. peter s square and piazza pio, the square just outside of st. peter s. you are seeing the wide shot here, stunning and beautiful view. 70 deacons will be serving communi communion and another 200 deacons will serve communion on the road leading to the vatican, just off camera from what you re seeing now. these are truly remarkable images, a solemn moment, but also, there s electricity in the air as john and delia have been reporting. just an excitement to be here to witness this historic event. two popes being canonized at the same time, on the same day. doesn t happen quite often. in fact, it s never happened before. john and delia, we re going to bring you back in. and as communion is being given, if you can help us, remind us of the significance of communion as ....