The Feast of Saint John Paul II

Today we are celebrating the feast of our beloved Saint John Paul II! On this day in 1978, the late Holy Father officially embarked on his historic pontificate with these words:

Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ's power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows “what is in man.” He alone knows it.

At the beginning of his papacy, St. John Paul II reminded the Church of who man is. Man is made in the image and likeness of God. To realize himself, man must open wide to the Redeemer who knows and loves him. He must give himself in love to both God and fellow man.

St. John Paul II made his life a gift of love, and this is what we are celebrating today as we open our new permanent exhibit. As pilgrims journey through our nine galleries that trace the life and legacy of this great Pope, our hope is that they will see how John Paul II glorified God by his life. We also hope that they walk away with the grace and inspiration to do the same.

Preparing For The Canonizations

This past week, the Vatican released details on its digital platform for the canonizations of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. See this article for more information on how they plan to communicate with the faithful as they prepare for the canonizations. This information includes logistical details about the ceremonies, how people can access news regarding the celebrations, and even spiritual reflections on the legacies and saintliness of these two Popes.

Those of you who haven’t made plans for the canonizations yet are welcome to join us at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine for the celebration. We have a number of events planned, including Mass, Adoration, multiple opportunities for the veneration of our Blood Relic of Blessed John Paul II, musical entertainment, and a canonization viewing party. Check out our Schedule of Events for more details.

Blessed John Paul II, as we prepare for your canonization, pray for us! 

You Want To Be The Stone Floor

During the Second Vatican Council, young Bishop Karol Wojtyła learned much about the Church and her role in the world. During his time in Rome working with both Blessed John XXIII and Paul VI, he also reflected on the importance of the Office of Peter (the Office he would occupy shorty thereafter). Through poetry he expressed the fruits of these reflections:

In this place our feet meet the ground, on which were raised

so many walls and colonnades…if you don’t get lost in them but

                                    go on finding

unity and sense—

it is because She is leading you. She connects not only the

spaces of a

renaissance building, but also spaces In Us, 

who go ahead so very conscious of our weakness and disaster.

It is You, Peter. You want to be the Stone Floor, so that they will

pass over you

(going ahead, not knowing where), that they should go where you

                  lead their feet,

so that they should connect into one the spaces which through

                                    sight help the

thought to be born.

You want to be Him who serves the feet—like rock the hooves of

                                    sheep:

The rock is also the stone floor of the gigantic temple. The Pasture

is the cross.

Wojtyła would soon go on to “serve the feet” as Pope for nearly twenty-seven years.

As part of our countdown to the canonization of Blessed John Paul II, the Blessed John Paul II Shrine is spending the month reflecting on the late Holy Father’s time serving as bishop in Poland. Keep following us here and on our Facebook page for more stories about his life and legacy.

Poem is entitled “Stone Floor,” translated by George Weigel, Sister Emilia Ehrlich, OSU, and Marek Skwarnicki. From Wojtyła, Poezje i dramaty, p. 63. As presented in George Weigel's Witness to Hope, p. 157.

Plans For The Canonization

The Blessed John Paul II Shrine made headlines again, this time with our plans for Blessed John Paul II’s joint canonization with Blessed John XXIII, April 27. See the story for details on our celebrations, our plans to open the 16,000 square foot permanent exhibit summer 2014, and a great interview with Patrick Kelly, executive director of the Shrine, who speaks about Blessed John Paul II’s “legacy of love.”

Blessed John Paul II To Be Canonized Divine Mercy Sunday

Well the news is out! Yesterday Pope Francis announced that the canonization of both Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II is to take place on April 27, 2014, the day the Church celebrates the Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday. 

This is a special day for Blessed John Paul II, for he instituted Divine Mercy Sunday in 2000, he died on the vigil of the feast in 2005, and he was beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2011.

Of course, we here at the Shrine couldn’t be more excited. Yesterday was full of visitors, celebrations, and prayers. In his homily for Mass celebrating the canonization announcement, our Chaplain Fr. Gregory Gresko introduced the congregation to the first-class relic of the soon to be canonized Blessed John Paul II, hosted on the altar for veneration: 

In the relic we have before us today, we encounter evidence from Blessed John Paul II’s own life of the extent to which he would go in order to show God’s Love. This first-class relic -- containing a piece of the white papal cassock he was wearing that became soaked with his blood when his would-be assassin attempted to take his life by shooting him in Saint Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981 – is a sign of John Paul II’s gift of himself to the Church, to you and to me, his personal testimony that shows us what it means to be a witness to God’s Love…

Fr. Gresko’s full homily is worth the read! For more on happenings at the Shrine yesterday, check out this report from the Catholic News Service. It includes some sneak peaks of our re-modeled Be Not Afraid exhibit.

Blessed John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Blessed John Paul II To Be Canonized

“The goal and target of our life is He,

the Christ who awaits us—each one singly

and altogether—to lead us across the

boundaries of time to the eternal embrace

of the God who loves us.”

-Blessed John Paul II, November 26, 1995

God has blessed this day, for this morning Pope Francis approved the cause of canonization of both Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII. Let us take time to praise Our Lord this day, thanking Him for two holy men who are now in His eternal embrace.