The Vatican could announce as soon as Friday that the late Pope John Paul II is to be beatified, putting him on the verge of sainthood, several Italian newspapers reported this week.
Catholic Church officials have credited him with a miracle, Il Giornale reported Thursday, and all that remains is for the pope to confirm it. The newspaper La Repubblica carried a similar report. Neither story named its sources.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi refused to confirm the news, but said it was "reasonable to expect it" if the Catholic cardinal in charge of the beatification process had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI on Friday.
The pope's daily audiences are normally announced at noon on the day they take place.
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