it's incredible to get to know pope john paul ii more. rosary that you shared with me that pope john paul ii blessed and thank you for telling us more about his life. >> you're welcome. you took me off the streets of rome. >> it's been sixors and it's so hard to believe and it's very significant for all of us, and lauren green, too, has really devoted her life to religion and to her work here at the fox news channel about religion. i want to ask you, lauren, about the young people that were in the crowd today. and pope john paul ii has the ability to reach out and inspire young people, to have faith. to have hope and to do work that was significant, and in helping others. do you get that sense today that the use youth of the world are sharing in the day that are so special to us? >> absolutely, jamie. you know, one of the things that pope benedict talked about in the homily, pope john paul ii's devotion to mary and talked about it in the papal coat of arms and the letter m. many don't realize when he became pope it was unheard of to have a

been in rome and lauren, your thoughts and what we can expect to come as one would think that pope john paul iiblessed pope john paul will be headed toward sainthood. >> well, as the commentator said, many believe he was already a saint and taking the world time to catch up to it. long time personal secretary, cardinal said that he died a saint. and i don't think this is' many people who would even counter that. they believe he's already a saint and it's just, we're just waiting for affirmation and confirmation and one other thing, another follower said to me, and not too long ago in st. peter's square was that john paul he taught a world how to pray, taught believers how to pray and then to live and then showed a world how to die and all through his life, you see this combination of faith and reason. and the sector world, separate those entities, faith and reason and you can have either one and you can't have both together. he lived out a different understanding of that. you have to have those. and it goes along with his life of truth, compassion, law and move, all of these things that a secul

people really listened to him and identified themselves, what he was saying. >> to be sainted pope john paul ii needs another miracle. a french nun miraculously cured of parkinsons' after she prayed with the pope. >> he truly seemed like a saint. >> it took thomas more 407 years. pope john paul ii is one step away 6 years after his death. some are offended by the speed of this process given the slow response to the sexual abuse scandal. >> given the seriousness of the issues, it is premature. >> others say, and a fast changing world with trouble people need someone to believe in. >> we need modern examples. he was so saintly in his way as. >> so some anger but there is pride for the people of poland were pope john paul ii is from. pope benedict got the process moving by dispensing of the usual five-year waiting period after death. >> in other news, firefighters pulled a man of a channel. this happened near swan creek road. the person may have lived on ht the boat. no foul play is suspected. >>> construction on the 11th street bridge is causing traffic changes. cruz close off access from outboun

movement in the church now to dismiss the council and, pope benedict xvi says let's not forget what pope john paul iient and, it transformed the church and cannot be forgotten. >> eric: you are saying the ceremony this morning, reaffirms pope john paul ii's lessons, his views of the church, as well as his personal suffering. at one point the pontiff said he was like a... in dealing with parkinson's disease and what we witnessed near the end and what he suffered. >> six years ago, people said he should either retire or go to a monastery or a hospital, but he -- his looks make us uncomfortable and he's not physically able to do what we knew him to do at one time and let's not look at this sick old man but that was his whole point, don't turn away, i am still john paul and, i am a channel of god an worthy of dignity and respect and it was a great lesson for those people who watch this pope like that, and was suffering from physical or emotional illness an wonders, is my life, still valuable. >> eric: now, let's listen in: ♪ ♪ >> we believe in one god, the father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth,

talking so much about the polish culture and all the poles that travelled to visit here, and john paul ii was the popenot italian. he had a connection to rome that started with his youth. can you tell us about that? >> reporter: john paul ii did not arrive in rome and say, i don't know my way around to find the pizza, and when he came here he had been here twice before elected pope. and he was right near the heart of town, and right around the corner. and then he came back for the second vatican council. he wrote a beautiful poem about how it could find the spaces within us. he visited the garbage people set every year. he was very much a part of rome. >> okay. wonderful details we can only get from you, elizabeth. thank you so much. >>> across the tornado-ravaged south, volunteers jumping in to help the survivors. after alabama, mississippi was hit especially hard with 35 deaths. and many of the survivors are sharing their stories. >> there wasn't time to think. after it hit, you was just there. i just didn't believe that this much damage was done in that short of time. >> msnbc's ron mott is in miss

john paul ii. we bring in a senior analyst joining us live from rome today. millions have turned out six years after the death of pope john paul ii to walk past his casket, so a great number of catholics feel like now is the time he should be on the road to sainthood? >> well, i think that's absolutely the case. certainly what the vatican will tell you when you ask them why this happened so fast. of course, six years is remarkably fast by historical standards. there are two points. one is that although pope benedict waived the two years. you'll recall sainthood now during john paul's funeral mass. most of the evidence around the catholic world suggests that there is a solid block of opinion out there who wants to see john paul made a saint and they want to see it fast. >> you mentioned popular demand, yet there was popular criticism that pope john paul ii didn't do enough involving the priest abuse scandal. so it's interesting that this movement would proceed despite a lot of criticism a lodge the way. >> yeah, that's right. and, of course, the sex abuse crisis would perhaps be the most acute source of criticism, but

catholic school students will spend the day tomorrow learning about the life of pope john paul ii. re than 1 million people gathered in st. peter's square. and thompson reports from the vatican. >> today, the catholic church declared pope john paul ii blessed. it is a major milestone on the path to becoming a saint. six years after they wanted sainthood. he has been beatified in record time, one miracle away from sainthood. the three-day celebration began with a prayer vigil last night were the romans once raised chariots. they remembered the man on a fast track to sainthood. among the speakers, the french nun who said her prayers kirk -- cured her parkinson's disease. his first miracle. his charismatic faces everywhere and on everything. trying to rekindle the catholics. , slipping in europe after decades of declining mass attendance. >> it is a kind of a spiritual fog right now. maybe this will bring people around. >> many people live inside the basilica before they will pray before the casket of pope john paul ii. they will keep the basilica open until every program has paid his

basilica to celebrate. >> you get to witness a saint -- someone become a saint. >> reporter: pope john paul, ii's journey to sainthood. >> i did see him about 20 feet away. i went on a pilgrim major to rome when i was in high school. >> pope john paul, ii was likely seen in person by any other person in history. >> reporter: at a special mass, church leaders displayed their most precious mementos of the pope. him praying, and a chalice now used for communion. a familiar white hat left behind 32 years ago and protected by glass because church leaders say it's considered a religious relics. the only thing missing, cardinal donald wuhl. he was in rome for the ceremony. >> a lot of us were awake at 4:00 to watch the church united in rome. >> reporter: andrew is three years away from becoming a priest. >> he executed joy and happiness and strength. >> he was amazing. i hope i can be more like him. >> reporter: he says he looks forward to the day john paul can officially join the ranks of the other saints here. at the basilica, tisha thompson, fox 5 news. >> in response to today's buy at at the identif

john paul ii. this tapestry was based on a photograph taken in 1995 when you could see the pope was still in full health. our image of john paul ii is so colored by his later years of suffering from parkinson's disease. but on this day, we're reminded of his youth and of his death six years ago and the enormous, enormous power that he continues to hold over the faith and imaginations of so many catholics around the world. we're going to go back now to the live picture. his remains have been exhumed from beneath st. peter's basilica and they line them near the basilica itself, the main altar, where many will be invited to approach his coffin and it will lie that until the very last of the faithful have had a chance. jim bittermann, senior vatican analyst john allen are watching with us. and it almost seems difficult to pierce this moment, this mass. it's an extraordinary day in the vatican. but for so many catholics, something remarkable about pope john paul ii has been recognized and he is now one step closer to sainthood. >> you know, john, one of the things that john said to me just as we were watchin

where one of the largest vatican masses in history, 1.5 million people were there to watch pope john paul~ii's beatification. thousands cheered as pope benedict pronounced john paul blessed. the beatification is the fastest in modern times. he is one step closer to saibthood. he need another miracle attributed to him. reports of inex-mickable cures are already pouring in. >> enthusiasm for pope john paul~ii stretched to st. mary's cathedral here in san francisco. we have a report from a well-attended sunday service. >> they came to sunday services with one thing in mind, to celebrate a man on his way to becoming a saint, and while they represented countries from around the world, no one was more proud than those who share the same homeland as pope john paul~ii. >> i love the man for this charismatic values and everything he had to offer to people, how kind and polite and caring he was. >> more than two decade ago the pope's visit to san francisco packed cathedrals and filled the stadium. on the day he was beef at -- beatified in room, the bay area faithful turned out again, celebrating on thei

joyous day in rome as one of the biggest crowds in vatican history witnessed the beatification of pope john paul ii milestone before sainthood. nbc's anne thompson is in rome for us tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. six years after his death, pope john paul ii can still draw a crowd as today the faithful answered the call. under a perfect roman sky, a massive demonstration of faith. 1.5 million catholics crowding every cobblestone in st. peter's square and beyond to hear pope john paul ii declared blessed. the unveiling of a giant tapestry of the late pontiff signaled beatification. and unleashed wave of emotion. many in the crowd slept in the streets to get a spot in the square, including john and natalie of st. paul, minnesota. >> we camped out until 4:00 in the morning. then we got in line for about five hours. but it was worth it. >> absolutely. >> reporter: susan labelle came to honor the man who changed her life. >> world peace day in '93 came to denver. and he turned me around and made me look at christ. >> reporter: at mass, this french nun who says john paul c

joining me now is liz lev, an art historian, she knew pope john paul ii. she spends virtually every day inside the vatican. let me start with your impressions on this day. what has just happened to your friend, pope john paul ii. >> i think we found out today john paul ii has a lot of friends. and it's a beautiful day here in rome. and it's wonderful to see this incredible spirit. it reminds us of six years ago when he died and there was that sort of silent collecting of the people. now that silence erupted today in this joyous celebration of recognizing john paul ii in heaven. >> it really was a joyful celebration. but what is happening inside st. peter's right now is very solemn, the veneration. tell me about the coffin, people will file past it. there's so much history where it is. >> the building -- the placement of the coffin is directly on the top of the tomb of st. peter, which is behind michelangelo's famous dome which goes down to the ground where st. peter was thrown after being executed 200,000 years ago and now beatified, sitting right on top of

pope john paul ii would be beatified on may 1. everyone rushed on to the streets to thank pope benedict. the first polish pope will finally receive one of the vatican's highest honors. still for many poles, this is just the first step. they want him not only to be beatified, but canonized, too. poland has been preparing for the big day ever since. many poles will be traveling to rome. those who can't are praying for him or commemorating him in their own way. a mobile museum has been established to help honor the pontiff. thisruck carring jn paul ii's memorabilia has been touring poland since early april. the poles enjoy looking at what once belonged to him. what he once touched touches them. >> he's being beatified. on may 1, the world will remember the great pope who was polish. there aren't many great poles. i thought a long time about who you could compare him to. the only other pole i could think of is chopin. >> here where everything began, this is the birthplace of john paul ii. it is tucked away if the foothills of the car

pope john paul ii is now the blessed john paul ii, the former pope now moved a step closer to sainthood in a ceremony that started a couple of hours ago at the vatican and continues right now. we'll take you there live in a moment. >>> also in this country in the south being declared a day of prayer in alabama, a response to that massive damage and loss of life from tornadoes that tore through the south just a few days ago. right now, 339 people are confirmed dead. many more still unaccounted for. crews are digging through the rubble looking for survivors and victims right now. >>> we want to get you back, though, and let's start with the blessing of pope john paul ii, a major undertaking at the vatican and also at rome. a live picture of the ceremony that continues at st. peters basilica this morning. there you see pope benedict beautifying his former pope, a step closer to becoming a saint. hundreds of thousands of people crowded into st. peter's square to witness this blessing. pope john paul is credited with one miracle, the nun he reportedly healed is there, she's a part of this ce

. >> alan: there's much more still ahead, including a new honor for the late pope john paul ii. thousands of pay area catholics celebrate, but there were some protesters as well. we'll explain. >> leigh: turned out to be a superday for opening day on the bay this afternoon. you're looking at a live shot from the high definition mount tamalpais camera. temperatures in the 80s. we look at the current read >> alan: a million and a half catholic faithful cleared outside the vatican as pope ben ticket beatified the late pope john paul~ii. >> john paul ii, from this moment on, be called blessed. ♪ >> alan: the late pontiff now moves one step closer to sainthood. an enormous portrait or the smiling john paul was unveiled before an adoring crowd, the beatification just six years after his death. many came all the way from poland. the enthusiasm stretched to st. mary's cathedral here in san francisco. it was a well-attended sudden service. >> reporter: they came to sunday service with one thing in common, celebrate a man on his way to becoming a saint, and while they represented countrie

about this morning, it is history in the making at the vatican as the catholic church honors pope john paul iiand the ceremony for the pope. charlie is reporting for wjz. can. >> reporter: thousands packed the square for pope john paul ii. the mass celebrated by pope benedict declared his credit that he is now among the blessed. >> and human race. >> reporter: a french nan -- nun explains how he cured her parkinson's disease. and the vatican called it a miracle. >> we don't have saints to say that guy is really awesome. we have it so we can inspire to live life like them ghvment more than a million people around the worldcom to attend the ceremony and honor pope john paul ii. >> reporter: the ceremony preceded despite the misgivings of those who say john paul should be held responsible for the claire delineate sex abuse scandal because it happened under his watch, but those who knew the pope best say he was deserving. >> he had a way of reaching and touching people so that they knew that he cared for them personally. >> reporter: the pope's coffin was taken from the crypt under st. peter and p

how did pope john paul ii change the overall idea of what a pope should be? radically changed it. think of his predecessor paul vi, he visited a handful of -- prior to that they were the prisoners of the vatican. john paul ii revolutionized all of that. he saw the papacy as not only the chief administrative officer of the vatican, but the evangelist to the world. his job was to announce jesus christ to all nations of the world. he absolutely changed the papacy. >> father barron, as we are looking at pictures of the crowd still streaming past his casket, what do you think it is about him that inspired his continuing devotion and adoration. >> >> alex, i think it's mysterious, he was the man of the theater, a man who knew how to stride the world stage, a man of great charisma, he affected the world, the downfall of communism, but finally it's mysterious. six years after his death, look at the crowd waiting to get in. maybe the best answer we can find is this. he was a man of such rich integrity. his whole like was gathered to clearly around christ, and everyone

was-termed the largest mass since his funeral an estimated 1.5 million people gathered to see pope john paul ii beatified, one step short of st.hood. in his homily pope benedict xvi said john paul ii restored to christianity its true face as a religion of hope. the crowd needed no prompting when a banner of john paul ii's likeness was unrolled from the balcony where he made his first speech as pope. >> it is great that he will be canonized soon after his beatification. so i also tell my friends about him. about his holliness. >> reporter: as befitting the first truly mass media pope, the ceremony was streamed live on facebook and twitter. for an institution that measured its time frame in centuries, beatifying john paul ii a mere six years after his death is moving at warp speed. it's the fastest such elevation in modern church history edging out moth err teresa by 3 weeks. the miracle which earned john paul a second beatification was this french nun's recovery from parkinson's disease after she prayed to him. to become a saint there will have to be proof of another miracle. >> the church today

thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> a prayer vigil tonight in rome on the eve of the late pope john paul ii. the crowd was estimated at 200,000. charlie shows us tomorrow's ceremony moves the beloved pope one step closer to sainthood. >> thousands of worshipers gathered for a vigil honoring pope john paul ii. >> it's a celebration of everything that john paul ii gave to us. >> main event is sunday, the biatification ceremony. that's when pope benedict declares his predecessor is now blessed st. paul. she prayed to the late pope and he cured her of parakinson's disease. vlad can officials are convinced it is the miracle needed. >> her story was the highlight of the evening's vigil. >> this ceremony is just the beginning for pilgrims who have come from around the globe to be here. some will keep praying until dawn. visiting churches that remain open all night. >> you are very strong. you have a big heart and connect with people so well. >> pope john paul's viadification is the fastest in modern history. some catholics say it's too fast and fails to take into account the sex scandal that rocke

thousands watch as pope john paul ii is beatfied. and new details about prince's wedding. >> who, trumping trump. he lampoons the tycoon at a gala in washington. you will hear about the highlights right here. welcome to "msnbc sunday," and it's 8:00 a.m. here on the east coast, and 5:00 a.m. out west. >>> a spokesman for the libyan government says gadhafi's youngest son and grandchildren under the age of 12 were all killed in the strike last night. mike taibbi is there. good morning. >> reporter: it happened 8:30 local time. we heard two explosions, and we were brought to the cam pound for the gadhafi family, we were shown that two were virtually destroyed, and there was ununexploitunune ununexploded missile. it was explained that the youngest of the seven sons of moammar gadhafi had been killed, along with three of the gadhafi's grandchildren, all under the age of 12. the government spokesman called it a direct operation aimed at an assassination of the country. and in all instances in the campaign bombing were targeted on military

indeed, pope john paul ii is one step closer to saint hood. hundreds of thousands have converged on rome to take part in the beatification mass for pope john paul ii. it's one of the ceremonial way stations on the bath to sainthood. he was one of the most popular popes. almost immediately after his death, talk of this day and what lies beyond it, sainthood, began circulatin circulating. the speed at which it has happened was as unprecedented as the popularity of this pontiff. we did get reaction from local catholics. >> he was such a loved figure worldwide. he seemed to have a real connection with people. it made sense there would be eventually an outpouring of support for him to be a saint. >> he was an outstanding pope, outstanding person. did he a lot for humanity. it's to be expected of this. >> and the church needs an uplift, do you think? >> it definitely needs an uplift. the wedding and now this. i think everybody's extremely happy. >> and in another local related development, the archdiocese of washington has formally announced the form

of the church, especially during the time of john paul that there was absence of any attention to the issue of clergy abuse of children. >> pope john paul iiied six years ago and no other religious leader has been beatified as quickly. >>> libya is once again claiming that nato is trying to assassinate gadhafi. he was in a building bombed by nato yesterday. while the leader and his wife escaped death, his son and three grandchildren were reportedly killed. nato officials say the deaths have not been independently confirmed at this point. they insist western forces are not trying to kill the libyan leader but just trying to eliminate his war machine. the latest developments have both critics and supporters of the presidentati's decision to nato do the fighting speaking out. >> we should be leading. we shouldn't be following. >> the narrative we want to come out of this is the libyan people overthrew a dictator, not that we came in and toppled a despate. >> gadhafi hasn't shown any signs of giving up the fight and still refuses to step down as part of the negotiations. >>> still to come at 5:00, the outpouring of support for giants fan brian

very impressive testament of faith and patience to john paul ii. ♪ tonight at circus maximus, where romans once raced chariots, a celebration of popeohn paul ii, on the fast track to sainthood. among the speakers, the french nun who says her prayers to the late pontiff cured her parkinson's disease. >> [ speaking french ]. >> reporter: the first of two miracles the pope needs to be made a saint. ♪ this weekend rome feels like a college town. john paul's charismatic face is everywhere and on everything, trying to rekindle the catholic spirit. flickering in europe after decades of declining mass attendance. >> europe's in a kind of spiritual and cultural funk right now. maybe this will break people out of it. >> reporter: a funk exacerbated by an avalanche of claims of sexual abuse by priests. the same scandal that rocked the american church almost ten years ago. it is why american survivors say the church should slow the pope's path to sainthood. >> all of this is just going too fast. and we don't yet know all of the implications of his inaction. >> reporter: in rome there are few dissenters. a million pilgrims are expected. many fr

now pope john paul ii is one step closer to possibly becoming a saint. pope benedict xvi declared john paul ii blessed before a crowd of 1.5 million people in st. peter's square. today's beatification was celebrated by catholics all around the world. the vatican said the late pontiff performed a miracle when he healed a french nun of her parkinson's disease. another miracle must be attributed to john paul after the beatification for him to be declared a state. >>> pope john paul came to d.c. in 1979 and visited the shrine of the immaculate description in the northeast. he left behind some momentos and as fox 5's tisha thompson explains, those momentos now have a very important role to play. >> reporter: the bells seem to ring a little bit louder and visitors from as far as the philippines came here to the basilica to celebrate. >> i want to get to witness him become a saint. >> reporter: pope john paul ii's journey to sainthood. >> i did see him maybe about 20 feet away. went on a pilgrimage to rome when i was in high school. >> pope john paul ii was like

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nunns from madigascar, priests and pilgrims from tennessee and minnesota, all here to celebrate pope john paul iitoday the catholic church declared pope john paul blessed. a major milestone on the path to becoming a saint sex years after his supporters demappeded sainthood now. beatifying him in record time, leaving hem one miracle away from sainthood. the three-day celebration began with a prayer vigil last night where the romans once raced chairots. here the faithful remember the man on a fast track to sainthood. among the speakers the french nunn who says her prayers to the late pontiff cured her parkinson's disease, his first miracle. john paul's charismatic face is everywhere and on everything, trying to rekindle the catholic spirit. flickering in europe after decades of declining mass attendance. >> europe is in a spiritual funk reason. maybe this will bring people out. >> reporter: a funk exacerbated about a group of claims of sexual abuse, the same scandal that rocked the american church almost a year ago, and it's where american surz vooifors say they should slow the path to sainthood. >

. >> pope john paul ii is step closer for sainthood. >> new details about the royal wedding reception. find out what prince harry said in his toast of the newlyweds. >>> more than a million catholic faithful cheered outside the vatican this morning, as pope benedict beautified pope john paul ii. >> from this moment on be called blessed. ♪ >> the late pontiff now moves one big step to possible sainthood. an enormous portrait was unveiled before the crowd. it's the fastest beautification on record six years after his death. many came from poland, his homeland. >> the beautification triggers a new wave of protests from victims of the church sex abuse scandal that occurred on john paul's watch. members of survivors network of those abused by priests will hand out leaflets in churches in 23 states. neither the bay area, three catholic diocese are targeted, archdiocese of san francisco at st. mary's cathedral. diocese of oakland at krath dral parish of christ the light. >>> england's royal newlyweds are enjoying a private getaway close to home after deciding to postpone their honeymoon. mea

john paul ii six years in pretty super. six years passed since the last gathering in st. peters square to honor pope♪ >> reporter: six years since his coffin was closed and placed in the crypt beneath the basilica. workers have rev rently removed it from its marble tomb and with cardinals as the foreman, they placed it in front of the tomb of st. peter. today, the closed casket is in front of the altar where he lay in state six years ago. both pope benedict and cardinals were the first to pay their respect. in life, he was a towering figure, not just for the church, but on the world stage. in death, there have been questions about his stewardship of an institution rocked by internal divisions and by scandal. >> he inspired the revolution that ultimately forced the collapse of communism. shortly after election, the young pope exhorted to his fellow poles, do not be afraid. he gave them courage to rise up said lech walenza, the first to challenge authority. soviet leader mikhail gorbachev said the collapse of the iron curtain would have been impossible without john paul. he also had plenty of detracto

the path to sainthood for pope john paul ii. the first rae commercial salmon season opens tomorrow for the first anytime three years. why many of the fishermen may not see many salmon for a while. >>> and charlie sheen prepares to take the stage in san francisco. some. >> leigh: tomorrow is opening day on the bay. i have your forecast.-iwñwñwñwña >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >> alan: a northern california soldier has been killed in afghanistan. the department of defense says 23-year-old army specialist preston dennis of redding died thursday in kandahar province. his unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device. he joined the army in august of 2008. started his second tour of duty in afghanistan last month. he is survived by his parents and wife. >> volunteers are bringing food and water and other necessities to communities damaged by the second deadliest tornado strike in u.s. hoyt. some people are still being found alive, including three people in alabama. here's more. >> reporter: s

. >>> and at the vatican -- a step towards saint hood for the late pope john paul ii. the ceremony uses his blood as a sacred relic. and you won't want to miss this -- >>> let me bring you back to focusing on the issues that matter, like did we fake the moon landing? >> after a night of ribbing from the president and comedian seth myers, i'll be talking to donald trump live right here on cnn. i'm don lemon. the news starts right now. and across the south today, sunday services were devoted to remembering victims of last week's devastating tornadoes. the loss of so many loved ones so quickly is taking a heavy toll on survivors. >> it has been hard days for all of us. the school is gone. our church is gone. there's nothing. >> it is a scene that will play out over and over in the coming days. the death toll from the storms now stands at 339. thousands more are injured, missing or homeless. alabama today declared a day of prayer for the victims. the state suffered the greatest loss of life with about 250 people dead. federal officials today got firsthand looks at the dest

it gives me pleasure to think what it means for the beatification of pope john paul ii. >> (translated): osama bin laden? >> (translated): i have said that the pope's first miracle has been to remove from the earth this demonic incarnation of evil and hatred (audience reacts). >> stephen: that's right. pope john paul ii killed bin laden (laughter and applause) see, here's what he's talking about. here's what the peruvian president is talking about. the first step to sainthood is called beatification and john paul was beatified the same day bin laden was killed. which was also the same day that the memphis grizzlies won a second-round playoff game. (cheers and applause) so you can put j.c. down for two miracles. (laughter) the point is the lord works miracles everyday, you've just got to know how to spot them. this is yahweh or no way. (laughter) first up, the my vie "thor" upped this weekend. thor is, of course, the no, sir got of lightning, thunder, oak trees and fertility. so he's the one you want to pray to if you're about to make love to a tree in an electrical storm. we've all bee

. >> alan: thousands of people arrived in rome for the beatification 0 of the late pope john paul ii. thousands gathered for the all-night prayer vigil. beatification is the last step before being named a saint. >> your background religion your political views were not important for him. human beings was important for him. youth, young people, we were important for him. so he was open man. >> alan: for a person to be beatified, he must be proven to have performed a miracle. in this case a nun who suffered from mark kinson is disease said she was cured after praying to pope john paul ii. >> the cleanup continues in the south as residents pick through the debris left behind by the tornado outbreak. 249 people were killed in alabama alone. today the president added mississippi and georgia to the official disaster area. fema workers are providing it information for people in shelters how to apply for help. national guardsmen are helping to sift through the rubble. three people were found alive in alabama. >>> charlie sheen brought his truth tour to san francisco. one of his last stops. so

. >>> six years after pope john paul ii was beatified, the pope benedict xvi praise the pope john paul. the late pontiff performed a miracle when he cured a french none of park in son's disease. one more miracle has to come forward for pope john paul ii to become a saint. >>> not the greatest news for endeavour, nasa official versus no idea when they'll be able to launch. engineers and technicians are repairing the shuttle's power line heaters. mission managers say that first possible date is may 8th, but they don't know if the repairs will be finished by then. >>> damage assessments and clean up efforts continue in tornado ravaged areas of the deep south. homeland security secretary janet napolitano toured areas in alabama and mississippi over the weekend. secretary napolitano is pledging federal support and offered her condolences. >> there used to be houses and just nothing but slabs, and now just to me, i've seen a lot of things in my life, but makes me want to break down and cry. >> disaster centers have opened in alabama and feds are on the ground in kentucky, tennessee, mississi

peters square to celebrate pope john paul ii moving him closer to sainthood. the church has accepted a first miracle attributed to pope john paul. a second verified miracle is needed for sainthood. this is the highest honor. john paul will be known as blessed. the beatification process was began right after his death in 2005. it was joy us for catholics all around the world and joining me is susan tim one, the executive director for esankellization and family life for the archdiocese of washington. we have millions of people, beautiful ceremonies this morning. >> gorgeous. >> and we have 16 heads of state, 7 prime ministers, five members of europe royal families, this is bigger than just the catholic church. >> i think so. and it is so indicative of the impact that pope john paul ii had in the world. he traveled the ends of earth and he was willing to meet with anyone who was interested in knowing what it is that the church can offer the world. and so i think it's an absolute representation of the way he touched so many people. >> now when i was growing up in c

. >>> right now the catholic church is just one step away from making pope john paul ii a saint. >> the pope has just been officially beatified, we're learning. nearly 1 million pilgrims is packed st. peter's square for the ceremony. let's take a live look at the vatican this morning. current pope benedict xvi is performing the mass. beatification is the first formal step before possible sainthood. with pope john paul ii passing just six years ago, this is the quickest beatification in modern times. something cardinal and archbishop of washington donald worrell says is fitting. >> we need heroes. we need people we can look up to. we need people who achieve with everything that we're attempting to do. >> a french nun who says her prayers to the late pontiff cured her of parkinson's disease put pope john paul ii on the fast track to sainthood. >> nearly four days after the worst outbreak of tornadoes in our nation's history, hope of finding survivors is waning. the death toll now stands at 342. alabama was by far the hardest hit. there are 250 people who lost their lives there, and that n

charlie has our report. >> reporter: thousands of worshippers filled rome for a vigil honoring pope john paul iicelebration of everything that john paul ii gave to us. >> reporter: the main event is sunday, the beatification ceremony when the predecessor is declared blessed john paul, one step away from becoming a saint. a french nun says she prayed to the late pope and he cured her of parkinson'ss disease. vatican officials said it was the miracle needed for the pope to be beatified. her story was the highlight of the evening's vigil. >> reporter: pilgrims came from around the globe to be here. some will keep praying until dawn, visiting churches that remain open all night. >> she was very strong. she had a big heart. and he connect with people so well. >> pope john paul's beatification is the fastest in modern history. some catholics say it's too fast, and that it fails to take into account the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the catholic church during his papacy. but the charismatic pope's overwhelming popularity has the vatican preparing for 500,000 people to attend the beatification. his c