Two years ago in St Peter's Square, as the death of Pope John Paul II was announced, the chants rang out "Santo subito!" (Sainthood now!). In the Catholic Church, which takes a long view of history, now is a relative term. The first stage of the investigation into the late pope's beatification has recently concluded with a Mass in the basilica of St John Lateran.

Attending the Mass was a 45-year-old nun, whose testimony will be crucial. If her evidence is accepted and a miracle proclaimed, then the man born Karol Wojtyla will be elevated to "Blessed John Paul". A further miracle will bring him to within touching distance of the title "St John Paul". Dissident Catholics, including 11 theologians who listed seven "negative" aspects to the late pope's life, will have been thwarted and the rush to sainthood will be all but over.

By Vatican standards, the speed is frenetic. With one exception (the beatification of Mother Teresa), the rules state that no one can be considered for sainthood until at least five years after their death.

Consider the case of Saint Germaine Cousin. Born to humble parents in 1579 in a village near Toulouse, Germaine suffered at the hands of a particularly unpleasant stepmother until she died aged 22. She worked as a shepherdess and was forced to sleep in a stable, on the grounds that the other children might catch scrofula from her. She sought refuge in her faith, existed on bread and water and served as an altar girl. This Gallic version of Little Bo Peep would leave her sheep to fend for themselves when the bell for daily service rang, but never lost a single animal to the wolves - which was seen by the peasants as an act of God. Her devotion to the midday Angelus was so intense that she would sink to her knees at the first bell, even if, as was often the case, she was crossing a stream. And once, when winter snows and floods made the stream impassable, it was said the waters parted to allow her to cross.

After her death, miracles attributed to Germaine began to occur with increasing frequency. Malignant growths were cured, the blind could see, dying children were healed. As early as 1644, there were petitions to have her declared a saint. The miracles continued into the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1845, it was said that a miraculous multiplication of food appeared for the starving community of Bourges. By this time, documents attested to more than 400 miracles. Finally, on 7 May 1854, Pius IX proclaimed her beatification and three years later the pope declared her a virgin saint. All in all, it had taken 256 years.

The late pope, yet to have a single miracle confirmed, has made faster progress. An early claim by a Polish citizen that her radio, which had not worked for years, burst into life at precisely the moment the papal plane touched down on Wojtyla's first visit home in 1979 and played throughout the nine-day visit only to fall silent as the pope left for Rome was deemed inadequate. According to the top official promoting his beatification, dozens of miracles are claimed.

The most promising are the claims of Sister Marie-Simon Pierre. Suffering with Parkinson's disease, the nun and other members of her community prayed to him for intercession even two months after his death. "I woke up at 4.30am, amazed that I had been able to sleep. I jumped straight out of bed, because my body was no longer rigid and painful." An examination showed no remaining signs of the disease.

Whatever his saintliness, John Paul II deserves recognition for his prodigious industry. Prior to his papacy, 300 saints were created in 500 years. He surpassed that total with ease, creating 482 during his 26-year reign. He also declared 1,338 beatifications, establishing what some call a "saint factory".

David Yallop is the author of "The Power and the Glory" and "In God's Name" (Constable & Robinson)