Faithful line up to visit John Paul's grave in the Vatican grottoes today; right, one of the late Pope's last public activities - taken March 6, 2004 .
Cardinal Dsiwisz at John Paul's grave after saying Mass this morning; right, miracle nun Sr. Marie Simon-Pierre at the Mass today
that formally concluded diocesan investigation into the late Pope's beatification cause
John Paul sainthood bid
reaches landmark
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, Apr. 2 (Reuters) - Pope John Paul's sainthood bid reached a landmark on Monday as investigators offered evidence of a purported miracle and a cardinal suggested it should be speeded up because there was no doubt of his sanctity.
At a ceremony including solemn oaths and sacred rituals on the second anniversary of his death, Catholic officials formally concluded the first phase of a probe into his life and holiness.
The Rome diocese gave the Vatican tens of thousands of pages of documents and transcripts which propose that John Paul should be beatified, the last step before sainthood.
Two years is an unusually short time for the completion of the first phase of a sainthood cause, which can usually take decades or, in some cases, even centuries.
The evidence gathered and symbolically handed over at a ceremony at Rome's Basilica of St John includes testimony from some 130 people as well as scrutiny of his life, spoken words and writings.
Most significantly, it includes the case of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a 46-year-old French nun diagnosed with Parkinson's - the same disease that the late Pope had - until she said it inexplicably disappeared two months after his death.
Simon-Pierre, who worked as a maternity ward supervisor in Aix-En-Provence, could be central to the case since the Church demands proof of a medically unexplained healing before a candidate can be beatified.
The documentation prepared by the Rome and Krakow dioceses will now be reviewed by the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
If the Vatican rules the cure of Simon-Pierre a miracle, another would be required before sainthood is bestowed.
Many Catholics are convinced of John Paul's sanctity, a belief that was stressed by the late pope's former secretary in a mass just after dawn at the pope's crypt in St Peter's Basilica.
"The faith of the people of God clearly recognizes his sanctity," said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who in the past has suggested that Pope Benedict should skip the beatification stage for his predecessor and move directly to sainthood.
"John Paul II was a member of the friends of Jesus, that is, the group of saints," Dziwisz said.
Crowds at John Paul's funeral in April 2005 chanted "Santo Subito" ("Make him a saint now").
In May, 2005, Pope Benedict put John Paul on the fast track by dispensing with Church rules that normally impose a five-year waiting period after a candidate's death before the procedure that leads to sainthood can even start.
On Monday afternoon Pope Benedict will say a Mass in the Vatican commemorating John Paul and may hint of whether he is considering any other dispensations.
At a news conference on Friday in France, the nun spoke glowingly of the late Polish Pontiff as an inspiration because of his very public suffering from Parkinson's.
"My healing was the work of God through the intercession of John Paul," she said.
She said she and her fellow nuns had prayed to John Paul for her recovery after his death and linked her healing to him. The Church teaches that Catholics can pray to the dead to intercede with God to perform a miracle on Earth.
An earlier story by AP:
'Miracle nun' on hand
for second anniversary of pope's death
by Gina Doggett
ROME, Apr. 2 (AFP) - A French nun "miraculously" cured of Parkinson's disease from beyond the grave by John Paul II was to attend a solemn ceremony Monday concluding the first phase of the Polish pope's beatification process.
The ceremony will see the Vatican accept a thick dossier compiled by the Rome diocese on John Paul II's "life, virtues and reputation for saintliness" including the testimony of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, 46, who attributes her sudden recovery to intercession by the late pope.
The event - on the second anniversary of John Paul II's death, himself from Parkinson's - has drawn thousands more pilgrims than usual, many clamouring for "instant sainthood" for the charismatic figure who reigned for nearly 27 years.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican department concerned with sainthood, is under enormous pressure to expedite the process - one that usually takes decades, if not centuries.
Asked whether John Paul II could skip the step of beatification - which would be unprecedented in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church - Martins told the daily
La Repubblica: "Only the pope (Benedict XVI) has the unchallengeable power to pronounce on such a delicate matter."
At this juncture, the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints is tasked "exclusively" with "verifying ... all the expected requirements for proclaiming" John Paul II's beatification. "And no more," Martins said.
Convincing evidence of a miracle -- usually a medical cure with no scientific explanation -- is essential in the beatification process.
Sister Simon-Pierre was diagnosed with Parkinson's, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, in 2001. She has testified that she was cured in June 2005 after praying to John Paul II, whose final years were marked by the disease.
John Paul II's candidacy for beatification - the main stepping stone to becoming a saint - has enjoyed fast-track treatment since Benedict waived the usual five-year waiting period, allowing the process to begin in May 2005, the month after he died.
The ceremony to hand over the dossier - which contains thousands of pages -- is set for noon (1000 GMT) at Rome's Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano.
Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was John Paul II's personal secretary for nearly 40 years and is now the archbishop of Krakow in southern Poland, will also attend.
Later Monday, Pope Benedict will celebrate a mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in memory of his predecessor, who died on April 2, 2005, aged 84.
He is buried in the basilica's crypt just metres from the tomb of the Apostle Peter, and his grave has become a place of pilgrimage.
The quickest beatification procedure to date was that for Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was beatified in 2003, six years after her death, after John Paul II himself waived the waiting period - which is intended to prevent sentiments from clouding judgement soon after the death of a beloved candidate.
John Paul II is himself known as the greatest "saint maker" in the history of the Catholic Church, creating 482 saints.
The late pope's beatification process has not all been plain sailing. In December 2005, 11 dissident Catholic theologians insisted in a letter to the Vatican that the "negative" effects of his pontificate be investigated.
In particular they cited his rigidly conservative stand on issues such as contraception in a time of AIDS, the role of women and sexual abuse scandals within the Church.
"Contrary voices" have been taken into account in the beatification process, Monsignor Slawomir Oder, spearheading the process, has said.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 02/04/2007 14.34]