A devotee touches to pray at the statue of Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II on display with other relics of the late Pope as well as Pope John XXIII in celebration of their canonization or the elevation to sainthood Sunday, April 27, 2014, at suburban Que
Washington:
Catholics in Washington are celebrating the sainthood of John Paul II by renaming a shrine devoted to his legacy.
On Sunday, the U.S. shrine dedicated to John Paul II was renamed the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II. A ceremony was held just hours after Pope Francis celebrated the canonization in Rome.
The Knights of Columbus purchased the former Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in 2011 to establish the shrine. It includes exhibits on the pope's legacy and about Catholic heritage in North America.
In March, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops designated the center a national shrine. It's located next to the Catholic University of America.
The center was created in 2001 by Detroit's archdiocese, but it required millions in subsidies and was closed for years.