Pope asks Poles to pray for beatification cause

Pope Benedict XVI today asked Polish pilgrims to pray so their fellow Pole, the late Pope John Paul II, may one day be a saint.

Benedict addressed the pilgrims in Polish during his weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square, noting the cause for the beatification of John Paul was officially opened by the Roman Catholic Church last week.

“I entrust to your prayers the advancement of this cause,” Benedict said, referring to his predecessor as “the dear Pope John Paul II”.

Benedict waived the traditional five-year waiting period to allow John Paul’s saint-making process to begin immediately, perhaps prompted by chants of “Santo Subito!” or “Sainthood Immediately!” that erupted during John Paul’s funeral on April 8.

It was only the second time in recent history that such a waiver had been granted: John Paul placed Mother Teresa on the fast track for sainthood in 1998, but her cause did not begin until a year after her death.

Beatification is the last formal step before possible sainthood.