JPI Miracle Goes to Rome

Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul I (photo: CNS/L'Osservatore Romano)

Pope John Paul I, born Albino Luciani, has moved closer to being beatified after the Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti in Puglia, southeastern Italy, concluded that a banker, Giuseppe Denora, was cured of stomach cancer in 1992 after praying for the late Pope’s intercession.

Giuseppe Denora, now 60, prayed in front of a newspaper clipping depicting Pope Luciani. He was at the time already receiving chemotherapy treatment, but he wasn’t expected to be cured.

Now, details of the miracle have been sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, where further examinations will be carried out. This signifies the start of the “Roman” phase of the process, when a medical board and a team of theological consulters will be called to give their final opinion and judge whether a miracle really did occur.

Verifying the miracle will run parallel to the drafting of the “Positio super virtutibus” of the Servant of God John Paul I — a detailed document on the cause.  Last year, which marked the 30th anniversary of John Paul I’s death, the postulator of his cause spoke of a miracle, but his announcement was premature.

John Paul I was the Church’s 263rd pope. He succeeded Pope Paul VI on Aug. 26, 1978, but served only 33 days as the Successor of Peter.