One step closer to sainthood

John Paul II will be beatified on May 1, the Vatican recently announced, bringing him on step closer to becoming a saint. The Vatican commission officially approved the late pope’s first miracle: curing a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, of Parkinson’s disease. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, made up of experts and scientists, unanimously confirmed that the nun was cured miraculously by John Paul II through a dream she is said to have had about the pontiff the year in which she was cured of her illness. According to Catholic Canon, one miracle is needed for beatification and two miracles are required for sainthood. Vatican officials also announced that before the beatification ceremony, the former pontiff’s tomb will be moved to the Chapel of St. Sebastian in St. Peter’s Basilica, near Michelangelo’s famous Pietà.