A new book released Friday presents testimony from the archives of the late Pope John Paul II's beatification process, offering a look into how the Polish-born pontiff touched the lives of those around the world. "Cuda," or "Miracles," contains 150 written testimonies that people from around the world sent to church officials as well as left at the Polish-born pope's grave at the Vatican.
"This book you could call a sign of gratitude," said Polish Monsignor Slawomir Oder, who is spearheading the cause to make the late pope a saint.
He called the letters "an expression of the need to express thanks for something that happened in life, in the hearts of those people who addressed God via John Paul II."
Many of the notes come from the late pontiff's homeland of Poland, but also from across Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, and talk about a return to health, moral renewal, the joys of parenthood or of a call to join the clergy.
Oder said the book presents "a picture of the great love and respect for John Paul II, as well as the conviction as to the efficacy of his interventions."
The Sw. Stanislaw BM publishing house, which is tied to the Krakow archdiocese, said it has tentative plans to translate the Polish-language book into English and Slovakian.
John Paul died April 2, 2005, after a nearly 27-year pontificate.
Less than two months later, Pope Benedict XVI announced he was waiving the traditional five-year waiting period and allowing the beatification cause to begin, responding to the chants of "Santo Subito" or "Sainthood Immediately" that erupted during John Paul's funeral.
The diocese of Rome, which carried out the primary investigation into John Paul's life and virtues, handed its dossier over to the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints last April 2, 2006, the second anniversary of John Paul's death.
It is now up to the Vatican to decide whether to recommend to Benedict that John Paul be beatified, the last major step before possible sainthood.
Already, the Vatican is studying a possible miracle needed for beatification: the inexplicable cure of a French nun who had been afflicted with Parkinson's disease.
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