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Pope Paul VI to be beatified, on road to sainthood

Investigating committee confirmed Pope Paul VI's miracle in 1990s, putting him on the road to sainthood.

By Ed Adamczyk
Pope Paul VI, right, embraces Cardinal John Patrick Cody of Chicago on June 20, 1977 in Vatican City (UPI Photo/Files)
Pope Paul VI, right, embraces Cardinal John Patrick Cody of Chicago on June 20, 1977 in Vatican City (UPI Photo/Files) | License Photo

VATICAN CITY, May 6 (UPI) -- Pope Paul VI, who led the Catholic Church from 1963 until his death in 1978, will be beatified, a stage on the way to sainthood, the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints confirmed Tuesday.

He thus is in line to become the next pope declared a saint, after Popes John XXIII and John Paul II achieved sainthood in April.

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Part of the beatification process is the Congregation’s search for evidence of a miracle. A miracle attributed to Paul VI involved the healing of an unborn child in California in the 1990s, the Vatican said, although details, including the location and name of the family in question, were not revealed. Evidence of a second miracle is typically required for beatification, but Pope Francis waived that requirement for John XXIII.

Beatification is regarded as the halfway-point to sainthood.

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