Francis wants to declare Paul VI holy

vatican city - Pope Paul VI will be declared holy this year, according to Pope Francis.

The Italian Paul VI was elected in June 1963 as the successor to the popular Pope John XXIII. He died in August 1978. Paul is perhaps best known for his controversial encyclical Humanae Vitae (of human life), in which he banned the use of contraceptives such as the pill and the condom.

Paul was saved in 2014 after being granted a first miracle. At the beginning of this month, a Vatican theological and medical commission recognized a second miracle. A miracle is usually the medical inexplicable healing of someone. With two or more miracles, the pope can declare the blessed saint.

Paul becomes the third pope to have declared St. Francis holy five years ago. The others are John XXIII, who died in 1963, and John Paul II, who died in 2005.

In the Netherlands Paul was responsible for the appointment of the conservative bishops Ad Simonis (late 1970) and Jo Gijsen (1972). These appointments were intended, among other things, to reduce the influence of 'ordinary' believers on episcopal policy.