Pope Francis has approved a second miracle attributed to the Polish pontiff by Late Pope John Paul II and with this approval he will become a saint by the end of this year.
Pope Benedict XVI had waived off the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed investigation into the late Pope's life and virtues to begin immediately.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed that the miracle concerned a Costa Rican woman.
The Vatican's "saint-making department" concluded that the only explanation for her recovery was the fact that her family had prayed for the late pope's intercession.
Pope Francis also decided that the late pope John XXIII, who opened the landmark Second Vatican Council in 1962, should also be canonised, despite no second miracle having been approved in his case.
John XXIII reigned from 1958 to 1963.
Woman claimed she was cured from a seemingly terminal brain aneurysm after she prayed before a shrine to John Paul II in May 2011.
A precise date for the canonisations will be set by a meeting of cardinals, the Vatican said.
John Paul II could become a saint on Oct 22, his feast day and the anniversary of the liturgical inauguration of his 27-year-long papacy in 1978, according to Vatican observers.
Another possible date is Dec 8 - the feast of the immaculate conception.
The Vatican's complicated "saint-making" procedure requires that the Vatican certify a "miracle" - or medically inexplicable cure that can be directly linked to prayers offered by the faithful - was achieved through the intercession of the candidate.
One miracle is needed for beatification, a second for canonisation.
John Paul II was beatified May 1, 2011, just six months after his death, when the Vatican attributed to him the "inexplicable" recovery of French nun Sister Marie Simon-Pierre from Parkinson's Disease.
(with inputs from IANS and ANI)
|
|
Comments:
