In 1952 he was designated for elevation to cardinal by Pope Pius XII. He was unable to participate in the 1958 conclave due to the house arrest to which he had been sentenced. On 10 February 1960, still under confinement in Krašić, Stepinac died of polycythemia and other illnesses he contracted while imprisoned. On 3 October 1998, Pope John Paul II declared him a martyr and beatified him before 500,000 Croatians in Marija Bistrica near Zagreb.