Beatification

Beatification (from Latin beatus, "blessed" and facere, "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name.

Beati is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" /ˈblɛsɪd/ (abbreviation "Bl.")

[citation needed] The blessed, elected by popular acclamation (the vox populi) enjoyed only local veneration.

By October 2004, he had beatified 1,340 people, more than the sum of all of his predecessors since Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590), who established a beatification procedure similar to that used today.

[citation needed] John Paul II's successor, Pope Benedict XVI (2005–2013), personally celebrated the Beatification Mass for his predecessor at St. Peter's Basilica, on the Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday, on 1 May 2011, an event that drew more than one million people.

Pope Pius IX (1792–1878), beatified on 3 September 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) beatified more people than all his predecessors had during the previous 400 years, and was himself beatified six years after his death, on Divine Mercy Sunday 2011.