Pope John Paul II To Be Beatified in May

Vatican has announced on Friday that Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1, thus bringing the former pope, one of the most respected ones in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, closer the sainthood.

In support of the beatification process, Vatican confirmed one miracle performed by the late pope.

The moment is expected to draw many thousands to the city of Vatican and to be a bright moment in the papacy of Benedict XVI, who is confronted on one hand with the sexual scandals provoked by the reports of child abuse committed by some of the priests of the Catholic church, and, on the other hand, with the increased violence against Christians in the countries in the Middle East, and in the Muslim world in general.

John Paul II was very much known by the entire world, being considered one of the crucial factors in the ending of the Cold War in the 1990s.

As he was being buried in April 2005, the people in the Saint Peter’s Square were calling for his sanctification, by the words “santo subito” (saint now).

That is why the incumbent pope put the case on a fast track but insisted that his life be investigated thoroughly.

Thus, it has been discovered that a French nun was cured of Parkinson, a disease of which the pope himself suffered, due to his intercession. A second miracle is needed in order to proclaim him a saint.

The statement released on Friday said that the cure of the French nun is miraculous and scientifically unexplainable.

Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian bishop to become pope in four centuries; he was the first pope to enter a mosque or a synagogue, and the pope during whose reign the Catechism was issued after 500 years.

However, his support for a Mexican priest who was accused of being guilty of abusing seminarians and of fathering a few children brought some clouds that hung over his papacy.

The news of his beatification was very well received in Poland.