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A man was killed Thursday in northern Italy when a cross devoted to John Paul II, the Polish-born pope who died in 2005 and will be made a saint this weekend, collapsed on top of him, news agency Ansa reported.

The cross, which stood in the village of Cevo to honour the late pontiff’s 1998 visit to the nearby city of Brescia, crushed the 21-year-old Marco Gusmini, Ansa reported.

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About 800,000 Catholic pilgrims from around the world are expected to descend on Rome to celebrate the beatification of Popes John Paul and John XXIII on Sunday. John Paul II, the church’s most-travelled pontiff, will become the fastest to be canonized since at least 1588, when Pope Sixtus V founded the Sacred Congregation for Rites to oversee the canonization process.

The curve-shaped crucifix in Cevo stood 30 metre high and was originally installed at a stadium in Brescia, according to daily Corriere della Sera.

Coincidentally, the victim lived with his parents in a town called Lovere on Via Papa Giovanni XXIII — translated to Pope John XXIII Street.