MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Roman Catholic Church has a new saint today, a young nun who died in 1938. Pope John Paul II made the proclamation at the Vatican. CNN's Gayle Young reports on why the pope chose this particular person for such an honor.</s>GAYLE YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sister Mary Faustina was a mystic nun from the same region of Poland as Pope John Paul II. In a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Square, he proclaimed in Latin that she is now officially registered as the newest Roman Catholic saint. Mary Faustina, who died in 1938 at age 33, has a tremendous cult following. Her brief life was dominated by revelations, visions, and prophecies. She had the stigmata, wounds on her hands and feet similar to the wounds of Christ. John Paul II firmly believes saints have the power to perform miracles and answer prayers, so he's proclaimed some 300 new saints in his 21 years as pope. That's more than proclaimed by all of his predecessors combined. There are a number of canonizations scheduled in coming months to commemorate the jubilee of Christ's birth. The obviously ailing John Paul II has been working overtime. He's attending May Day celebrations Monday, then he's off to Portugal. And on May 18, he turns 80 years old. Gayle Young, CNN, Rome.
Pope John Paul II Names Mystic Nun as Catholic Church's Newest Saint