An Italian girl who died at 6 after losing a leg could become one of the youngest Roman Catholics to be beatified, Vatican officials said Monday. Pope Benedict XVI approved the "heroic virtues" of the child, putting her on the path to possible beatification, Vatican Radio said.
The radio report said Antonia Meo "could be the youngest, non-martyr saint" in the Church should beatification and then sainthood be approved.
The girl, from Rome, had one of her legs amputated in 1936, when she was 5 1/2 after doctors diagnosed a malignant tumor, the radio said.
Before she died a year later, the child, known by her nickname "Nennolina," wrote "more than 100 letters to Jesus, Maria, God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which reveal a life of truly extraordinary mystical union," it said.
In one of the letters, the girl asked Jesus to give her back her "little leg," but assured Jesus that if her request wasn't granted he would still stay in her heart, Vatican Radio said.
A miracle performed through her intercession must be certified by the Vatican before beatification, which is the last formal step before the sainthood process can begin.
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