Pope voices hope of sainthood for 2 Cubans

At a meeting in Havana's cathedral with priests and seminarians, the pontiff said ``we hope that their canonization process may be concluded soon and that they may be invoked [as saints] by the faithful.''

Varela was ``faithful to his priesthood and an active promoter of the common good of the entire Cuban nation,'' John Paul said.

He described Olallo, a priest from Camaguey province who founded the medical Order of St. John of God, as ``a witness for mercy, whose exemplary life in the service of the neediest is a productive example of life devoted to the Lord.''

A social reformer and abolitionist, Felix Varela died in St. Augustine, Fla., in 1853 at age 65, after a lifetime of opposition to Spanish rule of his homeland. The last 30 years of his life were spent in self-imposed exile in the United States.

Canonization is a slow-moving process. Vatican researchers are looking for proof of a miracle that can be attributed to the intercession of the two priests, such as a healing that has no scientific explanation.

The Catholic Church requires proof of one miracle for beatification -- the determination that the candidate is in heaven -- and one for canonization.