Rome gears up for Sunday’s beatification

(April 29, 2011) As the Vatican prepares to move the late pontiff one step closer to sainthood on Sunday, Rome has been caught up with beatification fever. The city is festooned with posters of the pope on buses and hanging from lamp posts as the city where he was bishop for over 26 years awaits one of the largest crowds since his funeral in 2005, when millions came to pay tribute. Large television towers have been erected along Via Della Conciliazione, the main road leading up to St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. At least several hundred thousand people are expected at the mass in St Peter's Square on Sunday when Pope John Paul's successor Pope Benedict XVI will formally declare one of the most popular popes in history a "Blessed" of the Church. At least 16 heads of state and 87 official delegations from around the world will attend the beatification, the last step before sainthood in the Catholic Church. The Vatican has deemed that the otherwise inexplicable cure of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease, was due to John Paul's intercession with God to perform a miracle, thus permitting the beatification to go ahead. Another miracle will have to be attributed to John Paul's intercession after the beatification in order for him to be declared a saint. Beatification-related activities begin on Saturday night in Rome's Circus Maximus, the sprawling oval ground used by the ancient Romans for chariot races. An all-night prayer vigil will be held at the site, during which Sister Normand, Cardinal Dziwisz, the Pope’s personal secretary and Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the pope's long-time spokesman, will describe their experiences with him. John Paul's beatification has set a new speed record for modern times, taking place six years and one month after his death on April 2, 2005.