More than one million people have attended a special mass in St Peter’s Square in Rome to mark the formal beatification of Pope John Paul II.
‘From now on Pope John Paul shall be called ‘blessed”, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed in Latin.
To the cheers of the huge crowd, a tapestry showing a smiling John Paul was unveiled seconds after Benedict read the proclamation. A vial of his blood was presented for veneration.
The move is just one step short of full sainthood for the Polish Pontiff who died on 2 April 2005.
Supporters of a candidate for sainthood normally have to wait five years before any evidence is even considered.
However, the pressure for John Paul II to be canonised began almost immediately after his funeral.
The evidence is centred around a French nun who was apparently cured of Parkinson’s disease having prayed to the Pope soon after his death.
Doctors have confirmed her recovery and are unable to offer an explanation.
Progress towards full canonisation requires a second miracle and already hundreds of devoted followers of John Paul II have submitted claims.
Today’s beatification mass was celebrated by Pope Benedict alongside senior church figures, including Cardinal Sean Brady and Cardinal Desmond Connell.
May 1, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Where is your joy, Patrick? I did not see it.
May blessed John Paul continues giving us God, as he did when he went to Poland, and the people from that communist country cried: "We want God!".
Best,
Pedro Erik
May 1, 2011 at 6:37 pm
I found it really odd that there was no mention of this at the N.O. Mass I attended today.
What there was that was interesting was after Mass. Many of us stayed and Prayed the Divine Chaplet after which the enthusiastic gentleman leading the Chaplet told us, "You are all now Saints.." so, I've got that going for me, which is nice.
One oddity about the Beatification is the way his holiness was severed from his administration of his Office, so, it seems reasonable to think that one can both accept the obvious truth that he is a Beatus yet retain the liberty to criticise his actions as Pope.
That is a bit odd, isn't it?
May 1, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Beatified was the man, not the pontificate.
I am – to put it very mildly – not a friend of his pontificate and have written on it extensively and without any false charity; but I do think that we should separate JP II the Pope from Karol Wojtyla, the man.
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.
Mundabor
May 2, 2011 at 2:40 am
I'm no fan of the "fast track" to sainthood myself, but one should point out that even Pope St Pius X has been taken to task for not doing enough to stop the heresy of Modernism — we still have it, right? — and for his reform of the Divine Office. (Yes, criticism of liturgical reform goes back that far.)