( CNN ) -- Popes John XXIII and John Paul II will be declared saints in April , the Vatican said Monday . The announcement came after Pope Francis met with cardinals to discuss the planned canonizations of two of his predecessors . The ceremony will take place on April 27 . It will be the first time two popes will be canonized at the same time . Why does a pope become a saint ? To be named a saint involves a series of steps , but the qualifications are straightforward , according to the veteran Vatican analyst John Allen . `` You put a holy life and two miracles together , according to the Catholic system , you 've got a saint , '' he said . The calls to canonize John Paul II began even before he had been buried . People attending his funeral in 2005 held banners saying `` Santo Subito , '' short for `` make him a saint now . '' Their call was heard . Bypassing the normal five-year waiting period , Pope Benedict XVI set in motion the process to canonize his predecessor . John Paul is said to have miraculously cured Sister Marie Simon-Pierre , a French nun stricken by Parkinson 's disease , several months after his death . Read more : Pope names first Native American saint . The church says the second miracle occurred when a Costa Rican woman with a brain aneurism recovered after praying to John Paul . John XXIII , revered for his role in the Second Vatican Council , is only recorded as having performed one miracle after his death in 1963 . `` Pope Francis has decided that there already was a decree of heroic virtue saying that the man had lived a holy life , '' Allen says . `` There already was one miracle certified for his beatification in 2000 , so Pope Francis has decided he does n't have to pass go , does n't have to collect $ 200 , he can go directly to sainthood . '' In fact , canonization by the Catholic Church simply formalizes on earth what is already in place in heaven , Allen points out . `` It 's not like Karol Wojtyla , John Paul II , will suddenly become a saint when the canonization ceremony occurs , '' he says . `` The belief would be he is already in heaven with God , living the life of a saint . All that 's going to happen when the ceremony occurs is that the church will officially recognize that . '' CNN 's Hada Messia contributed to this report .
To become a saint , a person needs to lead a holy life and perform two miracles . Pope Francis is said to have cured a Costa Rican nun and a French woman . John Paul II is only recorded as having performed one miracle after his death . But John Paul II has decided that there are sufficient grounds to canonize him .