Vatican to close probe in effort to make John Paul a saint

VATICAN CITY — Catholic Church officials reach a key milestone in the drive to make Pope John Paul II a saint today, closing an investigation into his life and handing over a dossier detailing the purported miraculous cure of a nun who prayed to him.

The events come two years to the day after John Paul died — a remarkably fast pace that underscores the church's keen interest in beatifying John Paul.

Pope Benedict XVI put John Paul on the fast track for possible sainthood just weeks after his April 2, 2005, death, when he waived the customary five-year waiting period and allowed the investigation into his predecessor's virtues to begin immediately.

About 130 people were interviewed, historians gathered books about John Paul from libraries around the globe, and theologians studied his private writings to determine if he ever wrote anything heretical.

Such complicated investigations often take decades or centuries, not a matter of months.

John Paul's cause has been bolstered by the testimony of a French nun, Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, who says she was cured of Parkinson's disease after she and her fellow sisters prayed to the late pope. The nun, 46, emerged from secrecy last week.

The Vatican's complicated saint-making procedures require that a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession be confirmed before beatification. A second miracle is necessary for canonization.

After receiving the documentation, the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints would appoint medical experts to determine if there are medical explanations for the cure.

Theologians then would determine if the cure came as a result of prayer to John Paul. If panels of bishops and cardinals agreed, they would forward the case to Benedict. He then would decide if his predecessor deserves to be beatified, the last formal step before possible sainthood.