Stories of miraculous healings attributed to late pope John Paul II
are being posted on a Vatican website that has already collected
thousands of reports ahead of his beatification on May 1.
Tales of
lives saved, sicknesses cured and families reunited from across Europe
have been told in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Polish and
Italian on the Holy See's beatification website (www.karol-wojtyla.org).
John
Paul II was set on the road to beatification after the Vatican
confirmed he had worked a miracle -- the healing, apparently
unexplainable by science, of a French nun affected by Parkinson's who
had prayed to be cured.
The Vatican will have to prove a second
miracle to make him a saint and since 2006 has been collecting the
testimonies of those who say the ex-pontiff has miraculously intervened
in their lives.
Many stories speak of "sudden" recoveries from
cancer or other devastating illnesses "against the odds." Others
describe how the ex-pontiff helped them through moments of despair at
work or with tumultuous love stories.
Some confessed they had been
living an irreligious life or worshipping pagan gods before
rediscovering their Catholic faith thanks to his intervention.
Others
wrote that John Paul II appeared to them in a vision or dream during
high-risk surgery or life-threatening accidents, helping them to fight
for their lives or bear the pain.
Upwards of 400,000 people are
expected to descend on Rome for the beatification of the charismatic
pope, who reigned for nearly 27 years before succumbing to Parkison's
disease in 2005.
The beatification period was fast-tracked as
mourners clamoured for John Paul II to be made a saint.
Pope Benedict
XVI waived the usual five-year waiting period, allowing the process to
begin soon after he died.