Pope John Paul II Beatification In May - Houston weather, traffic, news | FOX 26 | MyFoxHouston

John Paul II is to be beatified on May 1, 2011, the Vatican announced Friday, after Pope Benedict XVI signed an official decree.

Beatification is the last step toward canonization when an individual becomes a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

In order to become a saint, a miracle must be attributed to the person under consideration for sainthood.

Pope Benedict XVI declared in a decree  on Friday that the cure of a French nun who suffered from Parkinson's disease was miraculous.

The pontiff died in 2005 after a papacy of nearly 27 years.