Could reported miracle bring beatification a step closer for John Paul II?

Rome, Italy, Mar 13, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The Vatican will begin an official inquiry this week into what could be the first miracle needed for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, reported NewsMax.com. Exactly two months after the Polish pontiff’s death, a young French nun was healed from Parkinson’s after her community of sisters had prayed for his intercession.

Msgr.Slawomir Oder, the postulator for the late pontiff’s cause, said he first learned of the case when the nun's superior sent him a letter describing what happened. He traveled to France last year to meet the young nun, who remains in perfect health. She had suffered many years from early on set Parkinson’s. She has now returned to active life and continues in her apostolate of caring for newborns.

Msgr.Oder declined to identify the nun or give her age, her community, her location or the name of her bishop to protect her privacy. He told The Associated Press that he would send a formal request to her bishop, asking for an investigation.

A team of doctors and other experts, appointed by the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will then determine whether the nun's recovery was miraculous.

Msgr. Oder intends to request an investigation into another reported miracle in South America and on in Europe, in case this French case is not accepted as a miracle. He continues to compile evidence from people around the world about John Paul's virtues and alleged miracles.