Beginning April 27, the day Pope Francis will canonize Blessed John Paul II, a Washington center named for the late pope will be known as the St. John Paul II National Shrine. The U.S. bishops March 19 designated the facility as a national shrine in his name “to reflect the love of Catholics in America for John Paul II,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., who as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops signed the decree. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec) (March 19, 2014) See JPII-SHRINE March 19, 2014.