A Roman barber who doesn’t like the Church and who is a card-carrying communist may be instrumental in the confirmation of the late Pope John Paul II as a saint, reports Spiegel Online.
The barber, Giovanni [Gianni] Vecchio, who has a shop in Rome’s via Niso, remembers giving the then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla a shave back in 1976 or 1977. At the time Mr Vecchio was impressed by his client’s eyes, voice and natural manner and the two conversed in Italian and German, a language Mr Vecchio had learned whilst working in St Georgen in the Black Forest. Perhaps the two men got on well because they shared the experience of being guest workers in a foreign country. When Cardinal Wojtyla was elected Pope in 1978 Mr Vecchio recognised the voice of his former client.
The process of declaring someone a saint is a long and carefully carried out one but it is likely to be quicker than usual with regard to John Paul II.
In this case Pope Benedict has waived the rule stipulating that the process cannot begin until five years after the death of the candidate and he has already declared his predecessor “Venerable”, which means that he is officially a role model for the Catholic virtues. The next step in the journey towards sainthood is the attribution of a posthumous miracle to John Paul II and this is thought to involve a Catholic nun who was cured of Parkinson’s disease after her community prayed for him to help her. When this miracle is confirmed, John Paul II can be beatified and this will mean that he can be honoured by a particular group or region.
Following beatification, a second posthumous miracle must be proven and this is where Mr Vecchio comes in: last year he started to experience excruciating pain in his lower back. Working became difficult for him and at one stage he could hardly walk. He was diagnosed with a herniated disk between the second and third lumbar vertebrae and on 31st July he was admitted to Rome’s San Giovanni hospital.
Before being taken to his ward, Mr Vecchio noticed a photograph of Pope John Paul II in the lobby. Surgery was scheduled for August 3rd but before it could take place, Mr Vecchio woke up one day and the pain had gone. His doctor ordered a fresh MRI scan and found no spinal abnormalities. She said that she could not explain what had happened. After beatification a panel of experts will examine before and after images of Mr Vecchio’s back. Only if no scientific explanation is possible will a miracle be confirmed.
Mr Vecchio is still pain-free and regularly jogs when not entertaining his customers with tales of his role as a “miracolato” or appearing on Italian talk shows. He doesn’t believe in the church very much but he does believe in one Karol Wojtyla.
