"Miracle" puts John Paul II's sainthood back on track

Jan 4, 2011, 12:47 GMT

Rome - Medical and church experts have recognised a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II, paving the way for the penultimate stage in the process to make the late pontiff a saint, an Italian newspaper reported Tuesday.

The decision will be formally communicated to the Vatican later this month, and then to Pope Benedict XVI for his final approval, according to the Milan-based daily Il Giornale.

The 'miracle' involves a 44-year-old French nun suffering from Parkinson's disease, veteran Italian Vatican-observer Andrea Tornielli wrote in Il Giornale.

In June 2005, Marie Simon-Pierre was allegedly 'instantly cured,' after her fellow nuns prayed to John Paul - who had died that April - for his intercession.

John Paul is currently a candidate for beatification, the last step before being canonised, or recognised as a saint, by the Catholic Church.

Benedict is very likely to approve the findings of the commission, and could set a date for his predecessor's beatification later this year, according to Tornielli.

In April 2005, mourners at John Paul's funeral in Saint Peter's Square shouted 'Santo subito!' (Saint Immediately) - a homage to the popular Polish-born pontiff whose 26-year reign remains the second-longest in history.

Following his election as pope later that month, Benedict put John Paul on the fast track to sainthood by waiving church rules that normally impose a five-year waiting period after a candidate's death before the procedure that leads to sainthood can start.

In December 2009, Benedict formally recognised John Paul's 'heroic virtues,' and gave him the title 'venerable.'

But before a person is beatified and given the title 'blessed,' by the pope, the Vatican's saint-making department must obtain proof that a miracle has taken place with the candidate's intercession.

Reports in Poland and Italy in March 2010 suggested that the Vatican medical commission of religious and medical experts had doubts over the case involving Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, including the initial diagnosis of the Parkinson's disease.

Some commentators also noted that patients with certain forms of the disease - a degenerative nervous system disorder which afflicted John Paul himself - have been known to make a full recovery.

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