It's Beatification Time! Pope Benedict XVI Confirms Pope John Paul II's First Miracle

The process included two major steps: beatification, the pope's recognition that a person is worthy of consideration, which begins a lengthy investigation process; and canonization, the pope's formal recognition that a person is truly a saint.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US DESK
Source/Credit: TIMES | NEWSFEED
By Zoe Fox | January 14, 2011

Pope John Paul II is just one miracle away from becoming a saint, thanks to his successor Pope Benedict XVI.

All he needs is one more declared miracle. Then, voila, sainthood.

Benedict announced Friday that John Paul miraculously cured Sister Marie Pierre Simon, a French nun, of Parkinson's disease — the very disease that took his life.

At John Paul's funeral believers in Saint Peter's Square cried "santo subito," meaning "sainthood now."


Benedict honored their request, waving the traditional five-year waiting period for the beatification process to begin. The beatification is set for May 1. (via New York Times)


A Brief History of Sainthood, by Kate Pickert:

In the 17th century, the Vatican's standards for sainthood were formalized. A non-martyr would need to have performed four posthumous miracles, usually spontaneous healings. (Today, the church requires a team of doctors to verify their veracity and prove that miraculous healings were not the result of modern medicine.) The process included two major steps: beatification, the pope's recognition that a person is worthy of consideration, which begins a lengthy investigation process; and canonization, the pope's formal recognition that a person is truly a saint. In each case the argument for sainthood would be rebutted by a Devil's Advocate, a person appointed by the Church to argue against the case for sainthood. Before becoming pontiff, Pope Benedict XIV was one of the foremost Devil's Advocates of the 18th century. It wasn't until 1983 that a revised Code of Canon Law was published that included reforms to the canonization process begun in 1913. Under Pope John Paul II the procedures for investigating and recognizing a saint were streamlined, the Devil's Advocate position was eliminated and the number of miracles required for beatification and canonization was reduced to two. [more..]

A Brief History of Sainthood, by Kate Pickert [Read]

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