The altar and general scene. The cardinals are seated to the right
(gold and white); the Pope is the middle of the three people seated
under the canopy.
As I recall, the actual canonisation part (and remember I was listening to a translation) amounted to not much more than the cardinal who was in charge asking Pope John Paul II if he accepts the request for canonisation, and the Pope agreeing. Of course, years of research was expended to reach this stage, which was really just a formality. [Though I did wonder what would have happened had the Pope said "No" :) ]
The altar and general scene. The cardinals are seated to the right
(gold and white); the Pope is the middle of the three people seated
under the canopy.
Thank heavens for TV - the best view we had of the Pope during Mass.
The presentation of the gifts.
The Eucharistic Prayer
Distribution of Holy Communion. The priests (in white) descending
from the altar are met at the bottom of the steps by an assistant
holding a white umbrella. This indicates the location to receive
Communion, and thus the crowd knows where to go. It worked rather
well, all things considered. The logistics of distributing Communion
to 300,000 to 400,000 people over a short time is quite an undertaking.
You can see how the white umbrellas are easily seen.
The congregation at the end of Mass.
Canonisation Day
After Mass