Vatican John Paul II

FILE – This April 10, 2003 file photo shows Pope John Paul II looking at a white dove released in honor of his repeated calls for peace by Roman youths, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican. A French nun whose inexplicable cure from Parkinson’s disease was the miracle needed to beatify Pope John Paul II will have a starring role in the Vatican’s three-day beatification extravaganza. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, as well as John Paul’s closest aide Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and longtime spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls will all speak about their experiences with the beloved pope at a prayer vigil at Rome’s Circus Maximus on the eve of the May 1 beatification. The Vatican on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, released details about the event, which is expected to draw some 300,000 people to the Eternal City. (AP Photo/Massimo Sambucetti, files)