Artifact: Beatification Box

This box, sealed with ribbon and wax, contains medical records and witness testimony that details how a French nun was cured of Parkinson’s disease after she prayed to Pope John Paul II.

WHY IT’S NEEDED Vatican procedure requires that a potential saint perform one miracle to be beatified and a second to be canonized.

ROAD TO SAINTHOOD Doctors and theologians will sift through the evidence. If they think the sister’s cure was supernatural, Pope Benedict XVI, a vocal advocate for John Paul’s canonization, will make the final call.