VATICAN CITY (AP) — A French nun whose inexplicable cure from Parkinson’s disease was the miracle needed to beatify Pope John Paul II will have a starring role in the Vatican’s three-day, around-the-clock beatification extravaganza, officials said Tuesday.

Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, as well as John Paul’s closest aide, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and longtime spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls will all speak about their experiences with the beloved pope at a prayer vigil at Rome’s Circus Maximus on the eve of the May 1 beatification.

On Tuesday, the Vatican released details about the ceremonies, which are expected to draw some 300,000 people to the Eternal City.

Eight churches in Rome’s historic center will remain open all night from April 30 to May 1 for a “white night” of prayer reminiscent of the all-night cultural events that Rome and many other cities organize, said Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome.

St. Peter’s Basilica itself is expected to keep its doors open well into the night of May 1 to accommodate the faithful who want to pray before John Paul’s tomb, which will be moved upstairs from the grottoes underneath the basilica for the occasion.

The tomb will find a new, permanent resting place in a chapel tucked just inside the entrance of St. Peter’s for better access by the faithful.

Beatification is the last major step before possible sainthood, and means John Paul can be publicly venerated.

The beatification ceremonies end with a Mass celebrated on May 2 by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.