Three years later

Can you believe that it was three years ago tonight that young people by the hundreds of thousands stood vigil in St. Peter's Square. John Paul II, the only pope that most of them had ever known, lay perilously close to death in his apartment on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace.

During the 26 years of his pontificate, John Paul II had endeared himself to the youth of the world. For the first time in known history, the Holy Father had taken the initiative to visit his flock in all corners of the world, and to speak to us of his abiding love for all. He didn't use puffed up language; he used the language of the heart to speak to our hearts, and this is what endeared him to so many.

On the day of his funeral, the cry was heard from the crowd, 'Santo Subito' - Make him a saint soon. In the hearts of many, he was already a holy man, but the procedure he himself had refined would have to be followed in order for the declaration of his sanctity to be formalized. Three years have now gone by, and some concessions have been realized.

Normally, a cause for sainthood cannot be introduced until five years after the death of the person in question, but this period can be shortened at the discretion of the Holy Father for just reasons. John Paul himself shortened the waiting period for the Servant of God, Teresa of Calcutta whose cause is advancing as we speak.

Only four short months after his death, Benedict XVI gave the OK for the cause of beatification for the Servant of God, John Paul II to be examined. Since that time, the report documenting the heroic virtues of John Paul II has been in progess, and is now nearing completion. Once the report has been submitted, it will be up to the Prefect for the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, along with his team, to study the file and to present conclusions to the Holy Father.

The document will be studied by various theologians and eventually the Holy Father could grant a decree of recognition of John Paul's heroic virtue, which would permit the Church to refer to him as Venerable John Paul II. Before he is beatified, a miracle must be attributed to his name. There are a number of miracles which have been reported, allegedly attributed to the intercession of John Paul. They are being investigated as possibilities for his eventual beatification and canonization.

The call of the crowd continues: Santo subito!