doctrine had been addressed by many spiritual writers before him, "it would be difficult to find another who had given the mystery such preeminence, making it, as he does, the beginning and the end of the spiritual life. And with Dom Marmion it is not so much a theory or a system, as a living truth that acts directly on the soul." Some believe the Catholic Church will one day formally declare Marmion the Doctor of Divine Adoption. Sources for Marmion's thought include, preeminently, the Bible (especially St. Paul and St. John), the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Liturgy (i.e., the Mass, the Divine Office, the sacraments), as well as St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622) and Msgr. Charles Gay (1815–1880). As a 20th-century writer, Marmion is notable, perhaps unique, in the several formal and informal endorsements his works have received from the popes of the 20th century, including Benedict XV (1914–1922), Pius XI (1922–1939), Pius XII (1939–1958), Paul VI (1963–1978), and John Paul II (1978–2005). His last years With Cardinal Mercier, his friend and confidant, Marmion was a spiritually dominant figure on the Belgian and international scene. The publication of his books had met with "immediate and overwhelming success," and they were rapidly being translated into a number of languages, including Korean and Japanese. His influence was at its height, despite his fatigue and a precarious state of health. In September 1922, he took the place of the Bishop of Namur as leader of the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. In October of the same year, he presided at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Maredsous Abbey (which he had governed as abbot for 14 years). Marmion was struck during a flu epidemic, and succumbed to bronchial pneumonia on January 30, 1923. Beatification Rapidly, favors and miracles were attributed to him; justifying the transfer, in 1963, of his body from the monks' cemetery to the abbatial church (his body was found to be incorrupt, after more than 40 years). A cure from cancer obtained after a woman from St. Cloud, Minnesota, visited his tomb in 1966 was investigated by the Church and recognized as miraculous in 2000, leading to his beatification in that year. Dom Columba Marmion was beatified on September 3, 2000 by Pope John Paul II, on the same occasion as: Pope John XXIII, who died in 1963 Pope Pius IX, who died