2nd John Paul II ‘miracle’ under investigation

From The Tablet:

Second John Paul II ‘miracle’ investigated

Doctors in the southern coastal city of Salerno say they cannot explain how a 76-year-old man under their care was suddenly freed from all traces of the cancer that was expected to take his life, writes Robert Mickens.

The man’s wife claims it was through a miracle granted through the intercession of John Paul II which, if upheld, could be the second miracle needed to secure the late Pope’s beatification. The case has been sent to the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints for outside experts to investigate the claims.

The Archbishop of Salerno, Gerardo Pierro, informed Catholics there of the possible miracle during Mass on the Feast of All Saints in the archdiocesan cathedral. He said cancer had spread through the body of Nicola Grippo and doctors had given up reasonable hope of eliminating the tumours. But the man’s wife Elisabetta, 72, said she prayed fervently to the late Polish Pope, who died in April 2005. The woman said she dreamed of John Paul II, who told her he would intervene. The next day Mr Grippo was cancer-free.

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7 Comments

  1. Fr. Bartoloma says:

    The real miracle would be a universal indult within the month.

  2. Geoffrey says:

    I think being healed of cancer is a pretty good miracle…

  3. Jeff says:

    Amen! Blessed Pope John Paul, pray for all of us.

    Of course, he’s already been rightly canonized by acclamation, but I wonder if he will be the next Pope either beatified or canonized? My guess is, he’ll beat out John Paul I.

    Is there a canonization process for Bl. Pius IX and Bl. John XXIII, do you know? And how are Pius XII and Paul VI coming along?

  4. Jeff: It is a little premature to call Pope John Paul “Blessed”. As a matter of fact, a precondition for the continuation of a cause is that there is no existing formalized “cult” for a Servant of God in which members of the hierarchy participate or cause people to participate in. Certainly many people acclaimed the late Pope “Santo”, especially at his funeral (I was there) and it might have been the only time in my life I will see a manifestation of vox populi, vox Dei. However, people are not beatified by acclamation now. The late Holy Father was the very same legislator who issued a reform of the process. There is no provision for acclamation. Causes for canonization depend on the reasonable authentication of a miracle worked through the intercession of the Blessed subsequent to the beatification. Pius XII and Paul VI are both Servants of God. Their causes are underway. There have not yet been decrees concerning their heroic virtues (which would make them Venerable).

  5. Jeff says:

    The Holy Father himself informally publicly opined that John Paul was in the Father’s house, still caring for us. I think that though there is no formal, canonical means of canonization by acclamation, it’s a pretty sure thing that John Paul is a saint. No one, of course, doubted that Teresa of Calcutta was a saint…because she obviously was. Her beatification was simply a formalization of what everyone knew perfectly well.

    My appeal to John Paul as “Blessed” was an anticipatory invocation of joy, not an attempt to set myself up as a formal authority.

  6. Geoffrey says:

    Personally, there is no doubt in my mind that the Servant of God, John Paul the Great, is in heaven. However, in keeping with the rules of the Church, I prayed for him on the anniversary of his death. I also pray the official prayer for his intercession daily.

    It is interesting to note that John Paul the Great wore the Brown Scapular, and it is said that those who wear this will be released from Purgatory on the Saturday after they die… the late Holy Father died on a Saturday (which, as everyone knows, was the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday AND the Octave of Easter). Coincidences? Nah….

    By the way, does anyone happen to know if the official Prayer for the Intercession of John Paul is available in Latin?

  7. Jeff says:

    I pray for JPII every night! Just in case… Though I feel a bit silly doing so.

    But I pray TO him, also.

    At Old St. Mary’s on the anniversary of his death, Msgr. Smith set up a memorial with flowers that read Requiescat in Pace/Ora Pro Nobis.

    I thought that was just perfect.

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