Queen’s University School of Medicine Professor Jacalyn Duffin is available to discuss the upcoming sainthood of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican today confirmed a miracle by John Paul II and set May 1 as the date of his beatification.

“John Paul II was fast tracked. Earlier in the 20th century, you had to wait 50 years after the death of a candidate. When John Paul II was pope, he reduced the wait time to five years. Now, he gets to be one of the beneficiaries. Another beneficiary was Mother Teresa who was beatified fairly quickly,” said Dr. Duffin.

Dr. Duffin is a medical doctor and the author of Medical Miracles: Doctors, Saints and Healing in the Modern World, an Oxford University Press book which reviews 1,400 miracles used in canonizations from 1588 to 1999. Professor Duffin – who is an atheist – was secretly hired by the Vatican to study the medical miracles of Canada's first saint (Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, founder of the Grey Nuns) during her canonization process.

To arrange an interview, please contact Michael Onesi at 613.533.6000 ext. 77513 or michael.onesi@queensu.ca, or Kristyn Wallace at 613.533.6000 ext. 79173 or kristyn.wallace@queensu.ca at News and Media Services, Queen’s University.

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