As we prepare for the feast of Saint John Paul II, we invite you to continue on this pilgrimage through our permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II. We hope you
will walk through each of the nine galleries with us, so that you can get a
taste of the spiritual and informational journey that awaits you here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine.
This week we will explore the third gallery, in which pilgrims learn more about John Paul II's election to the papacy.
This week we will explore the third gallery, in which pilgrims learn more about John Paul II's election to the papacy.
In this part of the exhibit,
visitors are called to ponder St. John Paul II’s words at the beginning of his
pontificate. On October 22, 1978, the day we celebrate as his feast, the great
saint spoke these words as a part of his inauguration homily:
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.
As the
first non-Italian Pope in more that 450 years, St. John Paul II fearlessly led
the Church into the third millennium, literally opening wide the Holy Door of
Saint Peter’s Basilica for the occasion.
