John Paul I on the way…

The vice postulator of the cause for the beatification of Pope John Paul I announced that the diocesan phase of the process could end this year.

The announcement, reported on Vatican Radio, was made public on the occasion of the presentation of the celebrations for the 28th anniversary of the election to the papacy of the patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Albino Luciani. The celebrations will be held Aug. 26.

Speaking of John Paul I’s birthplace, Canale d’Agordo, the vice postulator, Monsignor Giorgio Lise, revealed that "170 witnesses have been heard in 190 sessions; there are some missing in Rome and Vittorio Veneto. Therefore, the diocesan phase is drawing to a close and, in November, on the patronal feast of St. Martin, on the 11th of that month, it might well be concluded."

According to the vice postulator, the focus has been on the purported miracle that occurred in Puglia, in southern Italy. A man says he was cured of a tumor after praying to God for the grace through the Pontiff’s intercession.