VATICAN BODY APPROVES JOHN PAUL II'S BEATIFICATION

VATICAN BODY APPROVES JOHN PAUL II'S BEATIFICATION

(ANSA) - Vatican City, November 17 - Pope John Paul II's beatification process has taken the last formal step and now needs just Pope Benedict XVI's approval, Vatican sources said on Tuesday.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has given the go-ahead by approving the late pope's 'heroic virtues' and the paperwork will now be sent to his successor, the sources said.

The Polish pope's beatification is expected to take place sometime next year, perhaps in April, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of his death.

The beatification process took a key step forward this summer when theologians tasked with vetting documentation and testimony relating to the Polish pope's sanctity approved the material.

Candidates for beatification - the step that precedes canonization - must overcome a complicated and lengthy vetting process before beatification, the preliminary stage before sainthood.

In the case of pontiffs the procedure is usually much longer because the Vatican must examine much more material given the mass of responsibility and decisions taken by popes.

However, Benedict has put John Paul II's beatification cause on a fast track, waiving a rule requiring a five-year wait before the start of the process.

New reports of miracles attributed to John Paul II's heavenly intervention are said to arrive in Rome every week.