Rome council has agreed to rename a city square after Blessed John Paul II.
The city鈥檚 Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran Square) will be renamed Largo Giovanni Paolo II (John Paul II Square). The square is situated alongside the Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran鈥檚 Archbasilica), outside Vatican City. The Archbasilica is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and is the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope.
The square鈥檚 full title will be 鈥楲argo Giovanni Paolo II-Karol Josef Wojtyla-Pontefice 1978-2005-beatificato 1 maggio 2011鈥 (John Paul II Square-Karol Josef Wojtyla-Pontiff 1978-2005-beatified 1 May 2011). No inauguration date has yet been announced.
The name-change announcement came after a year of talks between the city council and the Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini. Rome councillor Dino Gasperini said: 鈥淔inally, we have found the right place to pay homage to the figure of Pope John Paul II... eight [years] have gone by since he passed away and now, with great emotion, I can announce that we have identified the site as a memorial symbol to the enduring memory that the city has of this extraordinary pontiff.鈥
