Majority of the Catholics today grew up in the Papacy of Karol Józef Wojtyła a.k.a. Pope John Paul II. And it is really a sight to behold- him being uplifted from the level of the Popes up to the “Blesseds”.

Every beatification (an act of making one blessed) must have a “confirmed miracle” as a premise.

The miracle of Pope John Paul II which was confirmed by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, concerns a nun who, after praying to the Italian Pope, was cured on her Parkinson’s disease.

The process of beatification is the fourth phase of canonization (an act that declares a deceased person to be a saint) which is composed of a 5- step stringent procedure:

1. The canonization process must commence only after at least five years of a man’s death.

2. The person who requested the canonization (the Diocese Bishop) has the task to perform initial investigations; he must gather all the documents and congregate witnesses to prove that the deceased has the following Christian virtues: faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude.

If the analysis is favored on by the Diocese, then he (the deceased man) would be entitled “ Servant of God”

3. Afterwards, the documents shall be passed to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If majority of the theologians agree that the man, indeed, lived up to the Christian virtues; then the documents shall be forwarded to cardinals and bishops who, too, are part of the congregate. Subsequently, if the cardinals and bishops favor the documents, then it shall be a subject of review by the Holy Father, and shall require the rest of the congregation to draft a relative decree for public information.

4. Beatification is one of the final steps of canonization; it is also a process that requires strict canonical investigation of the miracle that a man has done. A strict process is performed to avoid possible criticisms and doubts in the future.

5. In canonization, another miracle is needed which would also undergo the aforementioned steps.

If one is canonized, then he will be called a “Saint”

The Vatican has announced that Pope John Paull II will be beatified this coming May 1.

Reference:

Catholic-pages.com

photo from concordiaministries.net