Polish President Lech Kaczynski attended the mass at St Peter's basilica, along with Belgium's King Albert II and François Fillon, the French Prime Minister.

The Pope also canonised Jozef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889) of Belgium, Jeanne Jugan (1792-1879) of France, two Spanish monks - a Dominican, Francisco Coll y Guitart (1812-1875) and a Trappist, Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938).

ABC News Online reports that: “Pope Benedict has indicated he intends to slow down the rate of canonisations and of beatifications - a step towards full sainthood - in contrast with the prolific rate of his predecessor, John Paul II.

Pope Benedict has canonised 28 new saints since becoming pontiff in April 2005. Jean-Paul II canonised 482 new saints and beatified 1,338 during his 26 years in office.”

The Vatican, on its official YouTube channel, noted that: “The perfection of the saints is ‘in choosing to go against the trend, in living according to the Gospel’ … was the reflection offered this morning by Benedict XVI, presiding in the Vatican Basilica at the canonization of five saints. The Pope recalled how Jesus, even today, invites us all to the total gift of our lives, ‘without calculation and human self-interest’.”


Photo: Vatican Channel, YouTube