As the pope’s funeral took place on Friday, hundreds of thousands of mourning pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square chanted for the Pope to be declared a saint. John Paul II - now buried in St. Peter’s crypt known as the Tomb of Popes - was greatly loved and respected by believers, non-believers and leaders all around the world.

The immense popularity of John Paul II was shown yesterday by 30,000 mourners in and around St. Peter’s Square as the crowd paid homage to him, shouting "Santo subito!" which means in English, "Saint at once!" Among them were thousands of people holding red and white Polish flags with banners reading the same slogan, "Santo Subito".

This raised the question about when the saint canonising process will begin. Not only are the pilgrims eager to see this happen, also many cardinals, spearheaded by Reverend Peter Gumpel, are backing this proposal to honour the life of John Paul.

There is a written set of criteria for saint canonisation. Normally the saint canonising process starts not sooner than five years after the death of the candidate. Then the local bishop appoints officials to collect data about the person. All the documentation is then sent to the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood. Eight theologians and a promoter of the faith will judge the documentation that has to prove the candidate’s heroic exercise of virtue. If their judgment is favourable and the Pope approves, the candidate is declared "Venerable".

For beatification, one miracle is required that has occurred through the intercession of the candidate and after the candidate’s death. Finally, another miracle is needed for canonisation. Both of the miracles must be proven by medical experts and theologians.

The first criteria of the 5-year waiting period can be changed by the Pope, as well as the requirement of a miracle. John Paul II himself actually did this before for Mother Teresa, who died in 1997. He allowed the saint canonising process to start 1 year after her death, instead of waiting the normal 5-year period. Pope John Paul beatified her in 2003.

John Paul II has canonised 482 people in his life, which is more than all of the previous popes combined in the past 500 years.

The fast-tracking of the canonising process of Mother Teresa is also expected to happen to John Paul II. Some Italian newspapers have already started reporting miracles, attributed to John Paul II’s intercession. If the canonising process is to begin for John Paul, then the bishop of the diocese where the candidate died must open the case. This means that the new Pope must open the case. On 18th April, Roman Catholic cardinals will commence the process of electing the successor of John Paul II behind closed doors.