Pope Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom
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Mass of Beatification
In the Catholic Church, the Pope alone authorises the process that leads to a person being declared a saint and consents to the liturgical celebrations within the process, culminating in canonisation.
Beatification is a liturgical declaration of the saintly virtue of an individual and is the penultimate stage in the declaration that the person is a saint.
It has become common practice throughout the world for the Pope to preside at large open air celebrations of the Eucharist (Mass) during all his visits (or Apostolic Journeys). It is in presiding at those celebrations that the Pope visibly manifests his role of leadership and the focus of unity in faith. Some of the largest gatherings in recent world history have been at celebrations of the Eucharist presided over by the Pope.
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