Pope Benedict XVI has endorsed the beatification of John Paul II, the ceremony of which will be held on 1 May, the Vatican has said.

Benedict XVI’s decision puts an end to the long beatification process of the Polish Pope which started in June 2005. The beatification ceremony will be held on 1 May, on the Divine Mercy Sunday, designated by John Paul II himself.

After the beatification John Paul’s tomb in the grottoes of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican will be moved into the main body of the basilica, underneath the renowned Pieta by Michelangelo.

On Tuesday, cardinals and bishops at the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints endorsed the beatification after it was decided that a French nun’s cure of advanced Parkinson's disease after she prayed to the Polish Pope was inexplicable from the standpoint of medicine, and that it must have been a miracle.

John Paul II died on 2 April 2005, on the eve of the Divine Mercy Sunday. (mg)

Source: IAR, PAP

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