The late Pope John Paul II will be made a saint, the Vatican announced today.

AFRIK UPDATE

The Vatican said Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and called the Second Vatican Council, would also be made a saint. 

No dates for the canonisation ceremonies were immediately given.

The ANSA news agency reported that a commission of cardinals and bishops met Tuesday to consider John Paul's case and signed off on it.

TWO MIRACLES NEEDED TO BECOME A SAINT 

 During John Paul's 2005 funeral Mass, chants of 'Santo Subito!' or 'Sainthood Now!' erupted in St. Peter's Square. 

Heeding the calls, then-Pope Benedict XVI waived the typical five-year waiting period and allowed an investigation into John Paul's life to begin immediately. 

The investigation determined that the beloved Polish-born pope lived a virtuous life, the first step in the sainthood process.

Subsequently, the Vatican determined that a French nun who prayed for his intercession was miraculously cured of Parkinson's disease. 

A second miracle is needed for canonization.

The Vatican hasn't divulged any details about that second purported miracle.   

A Vatican official confirmed that the decision had been taken some time back and that Tuesday's meeting was essentially a formality.

One possible canonization date is December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major feast day for the Catholic Church. 

This year the feast coincidentally falls on a Sunday, which is when canonizations usually occur.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized by the church to discuss saint-making cases on the record, confirmed reports in La Stampa newspaper that 

Pope John Paul II could be canonized together with Pope John XXIII, who called the Second Vatican Council but died in 1963 before it was finished.

There is reasoned precedent for beatifying or canonizing two popes together, primarily to balance one another out.

John Paul II has been on the fast track for possible sainthood ever since his 2005 death, but there remains some concern that the process has been too quick. 

                              Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa, who was beatified in 2003, together in Calcutta in 1987

Some of the Holy See's deep-seated problems - clerical sex abuse, dysfunctional governance and more recently the financial scandals at the Vatican bank - essentially date from shortcomings of his pontificate.

But the Vatican in the past has sought to balance concerns about papal saints by giving two the honor at the same time.