Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Website Helps Speed Sainthood

Devotees can offer prayer or donation via a Vatican-maintained site

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 22, 2007 9:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Vatican has invited followers of John Paul II to offer prayers and donations to boost the process of making him a saint . A website set up for that purpose gives visitors the opportunity to see the late pontiff''s tomb via the 24-hour webcam and request pieces of the popular pope's cassock in return for donations made by credit card. Created in 2005 and redesigned recently, it now receives 1,200 donations a day, Bloomberg reports.

"The aim is to give everyone a chance to take part in the process," says the site's webmaster. "It's a way of reaching out." John Paul II is benefiting from a streamlined canonization process which he established, having sainted 500 souls, more than the combined total for all popes in the last 400 years.

Pope John Paul II and Diana, Princess of Wales are seen in this Aug. 29, 1985 file photo, on occasion of the private audience at the Vatican with her husband Prince Charles. Friday Aug. 31, 2007 marks... (Associated Press)

Radio Maryja listeners stand next to a statue of John Paul II... (Getty Images (by Event))

St. Peter's Basilica ((c) timatymusic)

Pomnik JPII / Monument to Pope John Paul II ((c) parafia-gron)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Pope John Paul II Immortalized by This?

Vatican newspaper says statue is a travesty

(NEWSER) - The Vatican is not a fan of a new bronze sculpture of John Paul II outside Rome's main train station, reports AP . Artist Oliviero Rainaldi says he depicted the late pontiff opening his cloak to embrace Catholics, but the official Vatican newspaper says it looks instead like a bomb went off. Two passers-by tell AP it looks more like Mussolini. More»

John Paul Deserves His Sainthood

He worked a political miracle against communism: Peggy Noonan

(NEWSER) - John Paul II continues his speedy path to sainthood this weekend, and Peggy Noonan thinks it's well-deserved. You want miracles? How about the political one he pulled off with his 1979 visit to his native Poland. It was simultaneously one of the "greatest moments in the history of faith" and "one of the greatest moments in modern political history," writes Noonan in the Wall Street Journal . Millions turned out in the supposedly atheist state to see him, a fact that government-run TV unwisely tried to ignore. More»

Pope John Paul’s Body Exhumed for Beatification

Rome in throes of 'beatification fever'

(NEWSER) - Move over, wedding fever: “Beatification fever” has begun. Tens of thousands are arriving in Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II , for which the pontiff’s coffin was exhumed today. As Vatican officials—including John Paul’s closest aide, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz—watched and prayed, the coffin was lifted from the crypts under St. Peter’s Basilica, Reuters reports. It will rest in front of the Basilica’s main altar. More»

John Paul Hits Facebook

Part of Vatican's social-networking push

(NEWSER) - Sure, Pope John Paul II is set to be beatified, but now he's even on Facebook. The Vatican, continuing its efforts to get hip with the kids, is unveiling a Facebook page to hype the late pope's May 1 beatification, featuring video highlights of his 27 years as pontiff. The move comes as part of the Catholic Church's efforts to capitalize on social networking sites to evangelize, reports the AP. More»

Pope's Coffin Will Be Exhumed for Beatification

Faithful will be able to pray before it at John Paul's May ceremony

(NEWSER) - The coffin of John Paul II will be exhumed for his beatification ceremony in May, reports Reuters . It will remain closed, but the faithful will be able to pray before it at the Vatican. About a million people are expected at the ceremony—which will bring John Paul one step closer to sainthood—and the Vatican is warning its flock in the meantime to watch out for online scam artists selling tickets. The event is free, and none are needed. John Paul was fast-tracked for beatification last month. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Website Helps Speed Sainthood

Devotees can offer prayer or donation via a Vatican-maintained site

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Vatican • Pope John Paul II

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Pope John Paul II Immortalized by This?

Vatican newspaper says statue is a travesty

John Paul Deserves His Sainthood

He worked a political miracle against communism: Peggy Noonan

Pope John Paul’s Body Exhumed for Beatification

Rome in throes of 'beatification fever'

John Paul Hits Facebook

Part of Vatican's social-networking push

Pope's Coffin Will Be Exhumed for Beatification

Faithful will be able to pray before it at John Paul's May ceremony

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?