2014 Event Pope Francis canonizes John XXIII and John Paul II; this is the first time that the Catholic Church has elected two former popes to sainthood in the same ceremony 2013 Event Pope Francis canonizes a record-breaking number of new Catholic Church saints; Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI submitted the 813 'Martyrs of Otranto' who were beheaded by Ottoman soldiers for refusing to convert to Islam 1982 Event Pope John Paul II canonizes Reverend M Kolbe, who volunteered to die in place of another inmate at Auschwitz concentration camp, a saint 1173 Event Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket Absp of Canterbury
