JPII to be beatified!

At moments like this I wonder what it is like to be one of the first to break such a story: I’m sure you’ve already heard:

The Vatican announced 14 January 2011 that the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II will be declared Blessed on Divine Mercy Sunday, 1 May 2011.

The miracle for this step in the canonization process was the cure from Parkinson’s Disease of a French nun through the intercession of Pope John Paul II.

I warmly congratulate my friends in Rome who will be able to attend such an historic event. I particularly look forward to the pictures and stories from the students of the University of Saint Thomas Catholic Studies Program at the Bernardi Campus. Perhaps one of you might offer your pictures for posting here in the coming months?

EWTN Rome Bureau Chief Joan Lewis, in her blog article for Thursday 13 January 2011, shows pictures of the current renovation of the St. Sebastian Chapel directly to the left of the chapel containing Michelangelo’s Pieta. The body of Pope John Paul II will find its new resting place in this chapel. ZENIT reports the body will not be exhumed, that is, it will remain enclosed in the coffin. Joan Lewis also says she was on the winning side of the guessing game about the date of Beatification. Someone had suggested April 2, the anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death. I would say the liturgical anniversary, Divine Mercy Sunday, is a much more poignant date.