Pope John Paul II Destined for Sainthood

Pope John Paul II 

Former pope destined for sainthood

The following excerpt is from TheStarPhoenix.com:

A second miracle attributed to the late pope John Paul II has been reported and he could be made a saint soon, Italy's Panorama weekly said on Thursday, citing documents sent to the Vatican.

The miraculous healing occurred just weeks after John Paul II's beatification on May 1 last year, which put him on the path to sainthood just six years after his death and was attended by over a million people.

The first miracle attributed to the late pope was the healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, who recovered from Parkinson's disease.

To be officially certified as a miracle by the Catholic Church, healings have to be instantaneous, irreversible and without scientific explanation.

The second miracle, about which no details were reported, was chosen from among four reported miracles and documented by the promoter of Karol Wojtyla's canonization, Bishop Slowomir Oder, Panorama said.

The magazine said the case was being studied by experts from the Congregation for the Cause of Saints and, if it occurred, could lead to the canonization of the late pope within the next 12 months.

Read more: Pope Destined for Sainthood

Future Spanish saint's intercession cured 3-year-old

Future Spanish saint's intercession cured 3-year-old

The following excerpt is from the Catholic News Agency (CNA):

On Oct. 21, Spaniards will celebrate the canonization of Sister Carmen Salles y Barangueras, whose cause for sainthood was approved after her intercession caused the miraculous cure of a 3-year-old Brazilian girl suffering from a brain condition.

The miracle occurred in Sao Paolo in 1999 when 3 year-old Maria Isabel Gomes de Melo Gardelli was suffering from acute cerebral ischaemia, which left her with paralysis, deformities in her face.

With no hope of recovery, her treatments were stopped and her parents, themselves doctors, brought her home to care for her until her eventual passing. Together with Maria Isabel’s classmates at Maria Inmaculada School in Sao Paolo, the family began a novena to Sister Carmen Salles for a miraculous cure.

The postulator for Sister Carmen’s cause for canonization, Mother Maria Asuncion Valls Salip, told CNA it was “on the fifth day of the novena that she was cured…the prayers of children are very powerful.”

Doctors were skeptical that she was completely cured. Even if she received years of therapy and treatment, they said, she would be at serious risk of epilepsy and other secondary illnesses.
Since the time of her healing, Maria Isabel has undergone 27 different medical examinations “and absolutely no long-term effects remain,” Mother Valls said. Now at age 15, she has even been offered careers in modeling.

Mother Valls said she is also a “brilliant student” with “a great ability to comprehend.” “There is no doubt this is a miracle,” she added.

A recent CAT scan shows scars from her condition remain visible on her brain, which Mother Valls said demonstrate the miraculous nature of her recovery.