Vatican sources said on Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI is set to approve this week the beatification of his predecessor, former Pope John Paul II, according to Reuters and quoted by the Manila Bulletin.
According to the report, beatification is one step close to sainthood and is approved by the Catholic Church after one evidence of miracle has happened for praying in his name. Two miracles are required to become a saint.
One source said that Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Vatican's Prefect for the Causes of Saints, will present to the Pope in "a few days" the evidence that the Polish Pontiff performed a miracle to a nun who recovered from Parkinson's disease two months after his death on 2 April 2005 at the age of 84.
It is expected that Benedict will approve the recommendation. He will then set a date for the beatification ceremony.
The recommendation was made by a Vatican commission of cardinals and bishops, members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints who approved the medical and theological proofs that the former pope performed a miracle.
Historically, canonization take decades or hundreds of years, but in May 2005, the pope fast tracked John Paul's candidature.
Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pontiff in 450 years who reigned the Catholic Church for 27 years beginning in 1978.
During his papacy, communism ended in Eastern Europe including his home country Poland. An assassination attempt in 13 May 1981 by a Turkish gunman left him seriously injured.
Having visited 129 countries during his pontificate, he is considered as one of the most traveled world leaders.
He spoke 14 languages including Ancient Greek, Croatian, English, Esperanto, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, and his native tongue Polish.
At his funeral on 8 April, the crowd chanted "santo subito" or "make him a saint now."
The miracle happened to Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a 47-year-old French nun. She was diagnosed with a neurologic disorder called Parkinson's disease that impairs movement and thought processes, an illness John Paul himself suffered. It was said that the nun was cured inexplicably two months after he died and after she and other nuns prayed to him.
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