On May 1, 2011, for the first time a Pope beatified his predecessor. Just six years after the death of John Paul II, his successor Benedict XVI beatified him during a ceremony that attracted nearly 1.5 million people to the Eternal City.   

The City of Rome went to great lengths to celebrate the beatification of the Polish Pope that spoke 'romanesco,' as the Italian dialect spoken in Rome is called. 

A Vatican-convoked commission of doctors concluded a healing attributed to Blessed John Paul II had no natural explanation, according to Italian news reports.

Eventual papal approval of the alleged miracle would clear the way for the canonization of the pope, who died April 2, 2005, and was beatified May 1, 2011.

Once a panel of physicians convoked by the Congregation for Saints' Causes determines a healing is authentic and lasting, and that there is no natural, medical explanation for it, the files are passed on to a panel of theologians.

The theologians study the events -- especially the prayers -- surrounding the alleged miracle and give their opinion on whether the healing can be attributed to the intercession of a particular sainthood candidate.

Pope Francis’ Regina Caeli address this Fourth Sunday of Easter, World Day of Prayer for Vocations:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Fourth Sunday of Easter is characterized by the Gospel of the Good Shepherd - in the tenth chapter of St. John – which we read every year. Today’s passage contains these words of Jesus: " My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one"(10.27 to 30).These four verses contain Jesus’ entire message, the core of His Gospel: He calls us to participate in His relationship with the Father, and this is eternal life.