Pope Paul VI will be beatified in late October, according to reports.
The Italian news agency ANSA says the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints has recognized a supposed miracle attributed to the late Italian pontiff’s intercession. The miracle identified was the sudden healing of an unborn baby from an otherwise incurable illness.
The predicted date for the beatification is 19 October, after the close of the synod of bishops’ meeting.
Pope Francis, during the 50th Anniversary of the late Pontiff’s election, stressed three aspects of Paul VI’s papacy: “his love for Christ, for the Church and for mankind.” He said Paul VI’s testimony “feeds us the flame of love for Christ, love for the Church, and gives us the momentum to announce the Gospel to the people of today, with mercy, patience, courage, and joy.”
Paul VI, who reigned from 1963 to 1978, was praised for his efforts to seek closer ties with other Christian denominations and for his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae which underlined the Church’s opposition to artificial contraception. (D.C.L.)
