Christian pilgrims may want to start making some travel arrangement to Rome if they want to attend the beautification ceremony of the Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI today declared his predecessor John Paul II as "venerable" at the Vatican after he signed a decree recognizing the "heroic virtues of the Servant of God" Karol Wojtyla.
This is the first step toward the canonization of the Polish pontiff who died in Rome in April 2005. Now the Holy See shall study a miracle through his intercession.
As reported by the Vatican, Benedict XVI this morning at a hearing authorized the archbishop prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Angelo Amato, the investigation of the sudden healing of a French nun Marie Simon Pierre. She was ill with Parkinson's, the same degenerative disease affecting John Paul II.
Simon Pierre, a 47 years old French nun says her symptoms disappeared suddenly after she and her fellow nuns prayed for John Paul II's intercession for two months after his death. She realized that the symptoms disappeared and she grabbed a pen to write. Her hand moved over the paper without shaking. From that day on she did not need medication to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.
Pope Benedict is very likely to approve the results of the investigation of this miracle. If approved, John Paul II can be beatified. After his beatification another miracle would be required toward sainthood. However, many Catholic Christians believe that John Paul II was a very special person and could skip the beatification going directly toward sainthood.
Beatification and sainthood ceremonies will be well attended by the faithful coming from around the world. This is why we suggested that many pilgrims may want to start making preparations for trip to Rome.
Written by Armen Hareyan
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