Pope Paul VI will likely be
beatified by the end of this year, possibly on October 19 at the
end of the Synod of Bishops, according to a report published by
Catholic weekly 'Credere' (Believe) to hit newsstands on April
30.
The weekly said cardinals and bishops with the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints, which oversees the complex process
that leads to the canonization of saints, are scheduled to meet
on May 5 to confirm a miracle attributed to the intercession of
Paul, who reigned from 1963 to his death in 1978.
In December 2012 Pope Benedict XVI authorized the
investigation which could lead to the late pope's canonization.
The pontiff formally allowed this process as the
congregation for the Causes of Saints wrote a decree stating
that Pope Paul VI had "heroic virtue", a first step in the
canonization process.
Evangelii gaudium (Rejoicing in the Gospel), the Apostolic
exhortation of Pope Francis and in some ways a manifesto of his
pontificate, explicitly refers to Paul VI's Evangelii nuntiandi
(Announcing the Gospel), a key document for the Catholic Church.
The late pontiff's successor John Paul I served only 33 days
when he died and was succeeded by John Paul II who will be
proclaimed saint on April 27 together with John XXIII in a
double canonization ceremony.
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