Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday proclaimed Spanish St. John of Avila (1499-1569) and German St. Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179) “doctors” of the church, one of the Catholic Church’s highest honors.

The proclamation of the two new doctors of the church was made by the pontiff before several tens of thousands of people who gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the opening of the two-week synod of the world’s bishops to chart the church’s new evangelization mission.