John Paul II May Be Canonized Soon

American Catholics celebrated Palm Sunday as the investigation into John Paul II's virtuous life closes, bringing him closer to sainthood.

Monday (at the Vatican) Catholic Church officials reached a key milestone in the desire of many to make Pope John Paul II a saint, closing an investigation into his life and handing over a dossier detailing the purported miraculous cure of a nun who prayed to him.

This comes two years to the day after John Paul died. The remarkably fast action to beatify JPII underscores the church's keen interest in responding to the calls of "Santo Subito" or "Sainthood Immediately!" that erupted after his death.

By waiving the customary five-year waiting period, Pope Benedict XVI put John Paul on the fast track for possible sainthood just weeks after his April 2, 2005, death, when he allowed the investigation into his predecessor's virtues to begin immediately.

The only other such a waiver was granted to Mother Teresa.

Pope Benedict will not attend Monday's ceremony at the St. John Lateran basilica, closing the investigation into John Paul's life. This concludes a key step in the process of beatification and canonization.

The cause of John Paul has gained merit through the testimony of a French nun, Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, who says she was cured of Parkinson's disease after she and her fellow sisters prayed to the late pope.

The Sister, 46, emerged from secrecy last week, revealing at a news conference in France the miracle ascribed to John Paul II's intercession. She said that she felt reborn when she woke up two months after John Paul died, cured of the disease that the pope himself had lived with.

Simon-Pierre is expected to attend Monday's events in Rome.

Beatification will allow John Paul to be called "Blessed" and honored locally or in a limited way in the liturgy. Canonization is considered an infallible declaration by the pope that a person who was virtuous to a heroic degree in life is now in heaven and worthy of honor and veneration by all the faithful.

In his Palm Sunday Mass message, Pope Benedict marked the anniversary of John Paul II's death by urging young people to live pure, innocent lives as he begins the Roman Catholic Church's Holy Week. This followed in the tradition of Pope John Paul II who used Palm Sunday to insoire the Catholic Youth who were so close to his heart. Benedict called for young people to follow God and suggested that they avoid corruption, lies and hypocrisy. He opened the celebration with a procession including dozens of priests, bishops and cardinals clutching palms and olive branches, commemorating Jesus' triumphant ride into Jerusalem.
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Thousands, including many young people, came out in force to the event.