Pope John XXIII Closer to Sainthood

The cause of sainthood for Pope John XXIII has cleared a major hurdle with certification by a panel of doctors that his intercession miraculously cured a dying nun, the Vatican has announced.

The Rev. Luca de Rosa, a Franciscan priest who is postulator, or advocate, of John XXIII’s cause, said the medical consultants to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints voted unanimously that the nun’s recovery was “inexplicable at the scientific level.”

“This is an important step even though there is still a long road to travel,” de Rosa said. He said it is still too early to say whether John XXIII will be beatified, the next to the last step before sainthood, during next year’s jubilee celebrations.

The priest said a board of theologians has determined that Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who was pope from 1958 to 1963, possessed the “heroic virtues” required of a saint. He said he expects the congregation to decide this summer whether to accept the finding and recommend that Pope John Paul II declare him worthy of veneration. John XXIII is best remembered as the pope who convened the Second Vatican Council.

For a person to qualify for sainthood, church officials must certify that two miracles can be attributed to him or her.

The miracle certified to John XXIII involved Sister Caterina Capitani, 24, who was believed to be dying from gastric hemorrhaging. After she was given the last rites, fellow nuns placed a picture of John XXIII near her wound and began praying to the late pope. According to testimony, the wound healed completely, leaving no scar, and Capitani was able to eat normally.