VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope has approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II's intercession and set May 1 as the date for the beloved pontiff to be beatified.
Pope Benedict XVI declared in a decree Friday that the cure of a French nun who suffered from Parkinson's disease was miraculous, the last step needed for the beatification.
The May 1 ceremony is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Rome to celebrate one of the most popular popes of all time. A second miracle is needed for John Paul to be made a saint.
Benedict put John Paul on the fast track to possible sainthood just weeks after he died in 2005, responding to the chants of "Santo Subito!" or "Sainthood immediately!" that erupted during his funeral.
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