Vatican investigates MacKillop 'miracle'

VATICAN CITY, May 30 (UPI) -- A judicial inquiry has begun into whether an Australian woman's inoperable cancer was miraculously cured by prospective saint Mary MacKillop, the Vatican said.

The vice-postulator of the case said two doctors have been assigned to determine whether the woman's recovery qualifies as a miracle under the church's strict rules, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday.

The woman, who was not named, claims doctors gave her only weeks to live when she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 1993. She said she began carrying a small picture of the Blessed (Mother) Mary that had a piece of the renowned late-19th century nun's habit pinned to it at all times.

She said the cancer had disappeared from her body 10 months later.

The miracle would be the second confirmed for MacKillop.

Pope John Paul II beatified the nun in 1995, giving her the title of blessed. Many of her Australian devotees have expressed hope that Pope Benedict XVI will announce during his upcoming visit to Sydney that he plans to canonize her.