Beatification is the declaration made by the pope that one of the faithful because of a life of virtue or the heroic death of martyrdom is entitled blessed, i.e.. is living in the happiness of heaven. This permits veneration of the person, not throughout the Church, but only in those places where the beatified lived or in the houses of the religious community that he or she founded. Beatification is formally the final phase in the cause of one who is being considered for ultimate canonization. The pope's declaration states that the cause may proceed and fixes the date for the ceremony in St. Peter's, which is the reading of the decree of beatification, the unveiling of the picture of the "Blessed" above the chair of St. Peter, the singing of the Te Deum and celebration of the newly beatified. The pope does not take a personal part in this ceremony, only assisting at Benediction in the evening and veneration of the relics of the beatified.

Source; Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1990