Vatican City, Jan 12, 2011 / 12:39 pm
Vatican officials have concluded that a miraculous healing credited to the intercession of Pope John Paul II is authentic.
The decision clears the way for the Church to declare the late Pope “blessed,” the final stage on the road to sainthood. The Pope’s beatification could take place as early as April 2, the sixth anniversary of his death, according to veteran Vatican analyst Andrea Tornielli, who broke the news in the Jan. 12 edition of the Italian newspaper, Il Giornale.
Tornielli reported that cardinals and bishops from the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints had convened Jan. 11 and "examined and approved the miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II.”
The case involves the healing of a French religious sister from Parkinson's disease. Doctors had diagnosed Sister Marie Simon-Pierre with the condition in 2001. Her fellow sisters had prayed for the late Pope's intercession, however it was not until Sister Simon-Pierre wrote the pontiff’s name on a paper one night in June 2005 that the miracle occurred.