The process of canonization in the Catholic Church requires two miracles. The first miracle for John Paul’s canonization was the healing of Sister Marie Pierre from Parkinson’s disease through his intercession. The second miracle healed Floribeth Mora Diaz's brain injury after an aneurysm left her terminal.
Pope John Paul II's First Miracle: Sister Marie Pierre
Sister Marie Pierre, a French nun, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, in 2001.
Pierre testified that her Parkinson's symptoms were steadily growing worse after her diagnosis. She found driving, walking, and writing extremely difficult, and her left arm hung useless to her side. Her tribulations had become so great that she would not even watch John Paul on TV, as it was hard to see him struggle with the exact same affliction.
Then, exactly two months after John Paul's passing, Sister Marie prayed to him. After praying to John Paul, she had the urge to write and found that she could now write as she could before her diagnosis. When she awoke the next day, she felt brand new.
In January 2011, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed, aided by consultations with doctors and Church officials, that Pierre's healing was scientifically inexplicable and was indeed due to the intercession of John Paul II.
Pope John Paul II's Second Miracle: Floribeth Mora Diaz
The second miracle leading to the canonization of John Paul II concerned a 50-year-old woman from Santiago, Costa Rica, Floribeth Mora Diaz.
Diaz suffered a brain aneurysm in April 2011, after a series of tests in a hospital, including a brain scan and a three-hour operation—the doctors told her that her condition was inoperable and terminal and that she would have only one month to live.
After receiving the bad news, Floribeth went home and was consigned to bed to keep her comfortable for the remainder of her days here on Earth.
As a wife and mother of four children, she strongly desired to live and began praying to Pope John Paul II for his intercession.
Coincidentally, Pope John Paul II's beatification was scheduled for May 1, 2011, and Floribeth decided to watch the events on TV.
After watching the beatification, she went to sleep but was awakened by John Paul's words, “Get Up! Don’t be afraid!”
Much to her husband's surprise, she got out of bed and told him she felt well. She also informed him about her encounter with the deceased pontiff.
Floribeth subsequently underwent several medical tests—including new brain scans—which left her neurologist and other doctors wholly stupefied.
They declared that her virtually instantaneous cure was scientifically inexplicable by any known natural agency.
Later, the Vatican assembled a commission of medical physicians. The commission brought Floribeth to Rome in secret, admitted her to a hospital for a new examination, and compared her current state of health to neurological records and scans from before her cure.
The commission confirmed what Diaz's doctors had said and also concluded that her cure was scientifically inexplicable.
This paved the way for the theological commission and Pope Francis to declare Pope John Paul II a saint. He was canonized on April 27, 2014, and is responsible for the fasted journey to sainthood in history.
Fr. Spitzer on St. John Paul II’s legacy
St. John Paul II has been an inspiration to me not only for the immense contribution of his pontificate politically and culturally but also because of his invaluable contributions to Theological Anthropology, Theology of the Body, the Family, the Culture of Life, and ‘Faith and Reason.’ Perhaps most important was his personal holiness, love of youth, evangelizing spirit, and his unique synthesis of Faith and Culture that enabled the Catholic Church to be the world spokesman for marriage, family, and a culture of high humane standards.
St. John Paul ardently defended objective moral standards and taught them in ways that would enable the human person and culture to flourish. What would the world have been without him? Much the less! He truly was the vicar and image of Christ on Earth!
*Originally published on August 31, 2020.
**Cover Image: Pope John Paul II at St Peter's Square, Vatican (1987) by Rob Oo from NL, CC BY 2.0 / via Wikimedia Commons (cropped from original).
