Vatican City: The process leading to
sainthood for late Polish pope John Paul II has recently been
accelerated, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said on Saturday
after talks with Pope Benedict XVI.
"We expressed our hope for a continuation of the
process and the latest signals show that this process has been
recently speeded up," Komorowski told reporters after the
talks on the 32nd anniversary of John Paul II`s election.
Komorowski also attended a mass in honour of John Paul
II in the Vatican.
Italian daily Il Giornale this week reported that the
medical confirmation of John Paul II`s first miracle, a vital
step towards beatification and eventual canonisation, could
come "in the next few weeks."
A spokesman for the Vatican declined to comment on the
report.
There had been speculation in Poland earlier this year
that today`s anniversary could see the beatification of John
Paul II, the first step towards formal recognition as a saint
of the Roman Catholic Church.
The procedure leading up to sainthood usually takes
many years.
Benedict congratulated Komorowski ahead of the
canonisation of Stanislaw Soltys, a 15th-century Polish priest
who is due to be recognised as saint at a ceremony tomorrow
alongside five others including Australia`s first saint.
"Tomorrow Poland will have a new saint," Benedict told
the President.
Komorowski is set to attend the ceremony tomorrow on
the square in front of Saint Peter`s basilica where around
50,000 faithful are also expected.
The two leaders also discussed collaboration between
church and state "for the common good," as well as European
affairs, the Vatican said in a statement.
PTI
