John Paul II moves closer to sainthood after nun claims he cured her disease

A French nun whose recovery from Parkinson's disease could be the "miracle" needed by the Vatican to beatify Pope John Paul II, has spoken out for the first time yesterday about her mysterious cure. Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, 46, claims her Parkinson's disease disappeared after praying to the Pope, who died in April 2005. "It is the work of God, carried out through John Paul II," she said yesterday. "It's something very strong that is difficult to put into words. It is up to the Church to decide whether or not it was a miracle."

The nun's identity was supposed to remain a secret until officially announced tomorrow , but was revealed by the French press this week. At a press conference in Aix-en-Provence, she said her cure had completely changed her life. "It feels almost like a rebirth," she said, smiling broadly. "I was sick and now I am cured."

She was diagnosed with Parkinson's, which struck the left-hand side of her body, in 2001. In a testimony sent to the Vatican after the death of the Pope (who also had the disease) she wrote that from April 2005 her illness got worse until she could no longer write or carry out her duties.

On 13 May 2005, Pope Benedict XVI announced the beginning of the beatification process, waiving the traditional five-year waiting period after cries of Santo Subito! (Sainthood now!) were heard at Pope John Paul's funeral. Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, who works in a hospital in Paris, wrote in her testimony to the Vatican that "from 14 May, my fellow sisters started asking John Paul II to intercede for my healing. They prayed incessantly, tirelessly."

On the night of 2 June she says she felt "compelled" to write, and was suddenly able to write legibly. By morning, she claims she was no longer in terrible pain, and she stopped taking her medicine. Five days later her neurologist was reportedly astonished at "the disappearance of all symptoms of the disease".

Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre's case is the "most impressive" among the cures attributed to the late Pope, according to Mgr Slawomir Oder, who is in charge of the case for John Paul II's canonisation.