Church to hold John Paul relic

A VIAL of blood from Pope John Paul II will be installed as a relic in a Polish church soon after his beatification in May.

It will be encased in crystal and built into the altar of the church in the southern city of Krakow. The new church is part of a centre that will be devoted to cultivating the memory and teaching of the pope.

The blood was drawn for tests at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic shortly before John Paul’s death in 2005.

Beatification is the last major step before possible sainthood of John Paul.