December 17, 2009. The late Pope John Paul II is one step closer at getting a spot on the altars, now that Benedict XVI will name him venerable.
Benedict XVI is expected to sign the decree Saturday December 19th.
When the Pope gives a candidate to the altars, the title "venerable" that means he recognizes that they lived the Christian virtues as heroes.
To beatify a candidate, the commission of cardinals and Vatican theologians must certify that God has performed a miracle through his intercession.
In the case of John Paul II, just two months after his death, several medical teams have classified the cure of a French nun with Parkinson's, as “scientifically inexplicable”. The nun says, with much difficulty, she wrote John Paul II name on a piece of paper and a couple of hours later she was 100% cured.
To name venerable John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI analyzed the documentation collected during the last 5 years by the postulator of the Cause of beatification, Father Slawomir Oder. Thousands of pages with specific facts and that show what many proclaimed the day of his funeral: that John Paul was a saint.
John Paul II road to sainthood, is perhaps one of the shortest on record. It started just one month after he died.
And lasted only 5 years. The traditional road to sainthood usually takes 10 times as long.
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