John Paul II to Canonize Four Saints on His Birthday
•Poland's President and 20,000 Poles Are Expected in Attendence

VATICAN CITY - John Paul II will celebrate his birthday today, Sunday, May 18, by canonizing four saints, two of whom are Polish; Poland's president, Aleksander Kwasniewski and an estimated 20,000 Poles will attend.

At the conclusion of the Mass in St. Peter's Square, the Pope's countrymen will sing the traditional 'Stolat' (may you live for 100 years!), accompanied by Polish Radio's national orchestra.

The rest of the day will be like any Sunday for John Paul II, who does not celebrate his birthday but rather the feast of his patron, St. Charles (Karol), on November 4.

The two new Polish saints will be Bishop Joseph Sebastian Pelczar, 1842-1924, founder of the congregation of Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Ursula Ledochowska, 1865-1939, founder of the Ursuline Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony.

The other two new saints are Maria De Mattias, 1805-1866, founder of the congregation of Sisters, Adorers of the Blood of Christ, and Virginia Centurione Bracelli, 1587-1651, founder of the Religious Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary.

After Sunday's celebration, John Paul II will have canonized 489 blesseds in his close to 25-year pontificate.

Candidates for beatification must first have a reputation for holiness among people. Then, before their case is taken to Rome, a detailed diocesan investigation is carried out to verify that they lived "heroic" Christian virtue.

Finally, the beatification will take place if the candidate died a martyr --spilt their blood in defense of the faith -- or a miracle is verified as attributed to the candidate's intercession.

Verification of a second miracle attributed to a candidate opens the way for their canonization.

Verification of a miracle -- a scientifically inexplicable cure -- is carried out by a medical scientific commission and, finally, by a theological commission.

At least seven dead in bombing on Jerusalem bus
• Sharon postpones meeting with Bush

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A suicide bombing on a Jerusalem commuter bus early Sunday morning has killed at least seven people and wounded 19 others, Israeli police say.

Moments later, a second suicide bombing took place nearby in eastern Jerusalem, police said, but there were no other casualties apart from the bomber. Following the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to postpone his trip to Washington, Sharon's senior adviser Ra'anan Gissin told CNN.

He was scheduled to meet with President Bush on Tuesday. Because of the postponement, Sharon will attend the regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting at 6 p.m. (11 a.m. ET), his office said.

The commuter bus hit in the attack Sunday morning was entering the center of Jerusalem from a suburb of eastern Jerusalem when the explosion happened just after 6 a.m. local time, Israeli police said.

Sunday is a working day in Israel; the blast happened as the early morning rush hour was beginning. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said the second suicide bomber was apparently on his way to hit another target when he prematurely detonated.

"Luckily it resulted only in him being killed," Peled said.

The bombings were the latest in a string of violent incidents coming within hours of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem. 

A suicide bomber killed an Israeli couple early Saturday evening in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank town of Hebron, Israeli military officials said.

Early Sunday, soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces killed two armed Palestinians after they entered the Sha-ari Tikva settlement in the western part of the West Bank and began shooting at settlers, Israeli military sources said.

Two Israelis, including a security guard, were wounded, an Israeli medical relief group said.

In the Saturday attack, officials said a Palestinian man dressed as a Sabbath-observing Jew walked into a neighborhood of the Jewish settlement in Hebron.

Israel Defense Forces soldiers patrolling the area called for him to stop, and the man started running toward the Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Palestinians as Ibrahimi Mosque.

Some Israeli settlers also chased the man who then detonated the explosives killing an Israeli man and his wife who had been heading to the tomb for prayers to mark the end of the Sabbath.

The woman, who was pregnant, was severely wounded in the blast and later died from her injuries, Israeli military sources said.

Izzedine al Qassam, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization Hamas, sent a leaflet to news agencies saying the bomber was one of its members. Hamas is labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

The attack came about an hour before the much-anticipated meeting between Sharon and Abbas.

On the Jewish Sabbath, Palestinians are required to stay in their homes to allow Jews safe passage to the tomb, a site considered holy by Muslims and Jews.

Israeli officials said they believe the bomber was heading toward the tomb before the chase.

The Israeli couple killed in Saturday's attack lived in the Jewish settlement of Kyriat Arba, outside Hebron, Israel officials said.

Hebron has long been a flash point of Jewish-Arab violence.

About 450 Jews, surrounded by 130,000 Palestinians, live in a settlement in the southern West Bank town. About 30,000 Palestinians living near Jewish enclaves are in Israeli-controlled areas and are frequently subject to curfews.

In November, Palestinian militants killed 12 Israeli soldiers and police in an ambush as they were walking from the tomb.

In 1994, Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians praying in a mosque adjacent to the Tomb of the Patriarchs.