Pope John Paul has signed a decree recognising a miracle by Pope John XXIII, which will allow for his beatification. He also recognised a miracle attributed to the Dublin-born Benedictine priest Dom Columba Marmion, who died in 1923.
Elected to the papacy on the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Pope John was already elderly. He was seen by many as an interim Pope who would hold the position until a stronger, younger candidate emerged.
However, he was to become the most radical and best-loved Pope of the century. Noted for his sense of humour, he was once asked how many people worked at the Vatican. "About half," he is said to have replied.
He summoned the Second Vatican Council which revolutionised the Catholic Church. It modernised its liturgy, opened it up to other churches, and declared that Jews were not collectively responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. He died in 1963.
The miracle is based on a vision of Pope John by Sister Caterina Capitani at Naples in 1966. Then 22, she was dying of acute peritonitis. She had received the last rites when, on May 25th 1966, she said Pope John appeared and told her he had answered her prayers.
Her recovery was immediate. Medical examinations on June 8th, 1966 confirmed her cure. Statements from the medical-scientific commission, set up by the Vatican, said Sister Caterina "was instantly cured". Still alive, she is now nursing in Sicily.
Another pope, Pius IX, is also expected to be beatified this year. In office from 1846 to 1878, he was one of the longest-serving popes in history and one of the most conservative. He called the first Vatican Council (1869-70), condemned modernism and declared papal teaching infallible in matters of faith and morals.
Father Marmion was born on April 1st, 1858. He was a pupil at Belvedere College and Clonliffe seminary in the city before going to the Irish College in Rome.
After ordination in 1881, he served for a time in Dundrum parish, Dublin. In 1886 he entered the Benedictine monastery at Maredsous in Belgium, becoming abbot in 1909.
His many spiritual books were published in 10 languages.
