ROME — Pope Benedict said yesterday that his predecessor, John Paul II, was quickly heading toward sainthood at a Mass to commemorate the second anniversary of his death.

At the Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the pope said: “He was a servant of God. This is what we will call him as he speedily progresses towards beatification.”

Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a French nun who believes she was miraculously cured of Parkinson’s disease by John Paul II’s intervention, was among a crowd of thousands at St. Peter’s.

The pope said his predecessor’s death at Easter reminded the world of the central message of John Paul II’s life. “His love for Christ was without reserve or limit. The perfume of his love filled our house, the church.” He said John Paul II had touched “every region of the world.”

Earlier, at a service at St. John Lateran church in Rome, the first step in John Paul II’s road to sainthood was officially closed. The Vatican accepted several black metal chests of evidence of John Paul II’s holiness, tied with red ribbons and sealed in wax with the stamp of the Diocese of Rome.

“Certainly, he was a saint, he was the living gospel,” said Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the head of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who will now examine the case. Cardinal Martins said the late pope would have wanted the church to follow all the normal stages before pronouncing him a saint.