The church official spearheading the cause to make the last pope a saint has finished a 2,000-page report to support the process.

The identity of the French nun whose cure from Parkinson’s disease may be the miracle the Vatican needs to beatify Pope John Paul II is one of the Catholic Church’s closely guarded secrets.

THE Catholic Church placed Pope John Paul II on the path to possible sainthood yesterday during a solemn ceremony at a Roman basilica - the fastest start to a beatification process in memory for a man many considered a saint long before he died.

The process to beatify Pope John Paul II opens officially today with a solemn ceremony in which all the clerics involved will take an oath of secrecy – and promise not to be corrupted by taking any money or gifts that might sway their decisions.

THE so-called “devil’s advocate” in John Paul II’s beatification process, who must investigate any doubts about his saintliness, yesterday pledged to remain objective, but hinted he supported the cause.

Mother Teresa moved a step closer to beatification today, when a Vatican committee approved a reported miracle attributed to the late nun, her religious order said.