Catholic faithful from around the world poured into Rome on Sunday as the Catholic Church declares Pope John Paul II "blessed," a step below sainthood.
There were cheers as Pope Benedict XVI personally beatified his predecessor, and a huge portrait of John Paul II was unveiled, showing him as the healthy, vigorous and relatively young man he was early in his papacy.
A vial of John Paul II's blood was placed before the crowds, which were expected to be the largest seen in the Vatican since the late pope's funeral in 2005.
The blood, which was taken from him by doctors during his final illness for possible transfusion, but never used, was displayed in a specially made silver reliquary.
Next came requests - first in English and then Polish, John Paul II's native language - that people put down their banners and flags, and pray silently.
Pilgrims turned out in large numbers, waving Polish flags and holding images of John Paul II, who hailed from Poland and was archbishop of Krakow before being elected pope in 1978.
Credited with helping to topple Communism, visiting more countries than any previous pope, and becoming the first pontiff from outside of Italy in 450 years, John Paul II also was the third-longest reigning pope in history.
The Vatican suggests he was seen in person by more than anyone else in human history, between his 104 foreign trips and the roughly 17 million pilgrims who saw him at his audiences at the Vatican over his long reign.
He was fast-tracked to beatification when he died in 2005, and becomes "the blessed" John Paul II barely six years after his death.
For beatification, a person must be credited with a miracle by the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI ruled last year that John Paul II had miraculously cured a French nun of Parkinson's disease after his death. The pope himself suffered from the condition.
The nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, was one of two nuns who brought the silver reliquary with the blood to Pope Benedict XVI after John Paul II was beatified.
The blood is still liquid because doctors added anti-coagulents to it when it was taken.
The Catholic tradition of venerating saints' physical remains - known as relics - dates to the earliest days of the church.
To become saint, John Paul II would need to perform a second miracle.
