The Pilgrim's Way: Beginning

Here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, we are devoted to building and preserving a place of encounter with Christ. We invite visitors to participate in liturgical prayer, in the veneration of Saint John Paul II’s relics, and ultimately in the universal call to holiness. According to Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, this Shrine is “a gift of the Knights of Columbus to the Church as a dedicated place of conversion, communion, and solidarity that advances the new evangelization now and in the future.”  

One way we do this is through our permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II. Through this exhibit, we invite pilgrims to immerse themselves in the life, papacy, and teachings of John Paul II. We have already seen pilgrims walk away with hearts changed by this display of the late Holy Father’s saintly life, and each day it inspires in us a call to live as Christ’s disciples, just as John Paul II did.

As we prepare for the feast of St. John Paul II, we invite you to join us here on Open Wide the Doors as we explore this exhibit in depth. 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.

St. John Paul II's Response To Secularism

St. John Paul II at World Youth Day in Denver, CO, 1993 (CNS / Joe Rimkus Jr.)

Earlier this month, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson wrote a column on the Church’s response to the challenge of secularization. In the article, he draws from the “prophetic wisdom” of Saint John Paul II on marriage:

St. John Paul II spent his entire life confronting secular atheism — often in its most virulent and violent forms. The claim of these totalitarian systems was essentially the same: The answer to man’s problems will come in the events of social, economic and political change, whether realized by Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich or Marx’s workers’ paradise.

John Paul II responded to the challenge of secularism on many levels. But most notably he responded to this challenge in his prophetic ministry to married couples and families.

See the Knights of Columbus site for more.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

St. Kateri Relic To Be Placed In Altar At Shrine

Last month, the Knights of Columbus donated $600,000 for the renovation and upkeep of Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine, the birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. At the time, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson was presented with a first-class relic of the Native American saint. This relic will be placed in an altar here at the Shrine, as we continue to construct our new worship space.

Kateri Tekakwitha was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1980, and she was later canonized by Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI. On the occasion of her beatification, John Paul II said:

All of us are inspired by the example of this young woman of faith who died three centuries ago this year. We are all edified by her complete trust in the providence of God, and we are encouraged by her joyful fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a true sense the whole Church, together with you, declares in the words of Saint Paul: “Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.”

The Church has declared to the world that Kateri Tekakwitha is blessed, that she lived a life on earth of exemplary holiness and that she is now a member in heaven of the Communion of Saints who continually intercede with the merciful Father on our behalf.

Her beatification should remind us that we are all called to a life of holiness, for in Baptism God has chosen each one of us “to be holy and spotless and to live through love in his presence.” Holiness of life - union with Christ through prayer and works of charity - is not something reserved to a select few among the members of the Church. It is the vocation of everyone.

My brothers and sisters, may you be inspired and encouraged by the life of Blessed Kateri. Look to her for an example of fidelity; see in her a model of purity and love; turn to her in prayer for assistance. May God bless you as he blessed her. May God bless all the North American Indians of Canada and the United States.

The Church actually celebrated St. Kateri’s feast last week. Let us ask her to pray for us, that we may live out our vocations to holiness as she did.

Majority of Americans Admire St. John Paul II

Saint John Paul II at the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, 1995.

We are obviously big fans of Saint John Paul II here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. But we aren’t the only Americans who admire the sainted pontiff.

A month before his beatification, the Knights of Columbus conducted a poll to see what Americans really thought of the late Holy Father. Some of the key findings were:

78% of Americans – along with 95 percent of Catholics and 98 percent of practicing Catholics – admire Pope John Paul II at least somewhat, with strong majorities of each demographic admiring him a great deal or a good amount (55 percent, 82 percent and 89 percent, respectively).

About six in 10 Americans (59 percent) believe that Pope John Paul II was one of the best or the best Pope in Church history. Among Catholics this view grows to more than 8 in 10 (82 percent of Catholics and 87 percent of practicing Catholics).

A large number of Americans (40 percent) – along with 65 percent of Catholics and 71 percent of practicing Catholics – remember watching one of John Paul II’s televised Masses or events.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans remember his trips to the United States, and almost half (46 percent) watched his funeral in 2005 – a number that includes more than two-thirds of Catholics (68 percent) and almost three-quarters of practicing Catholics (73 percent).

More than four in 10 Americans report that Pope John Paul II made at least some difference in their life spiritually. Among Catholics nearly three-quarters felt he had some spiritual impact on their lives (73 percent), as did nearly 9 in 10 practicing Catholics (87 percent).

In sum, Saint John Paul II is overwhelmingly admired by Americans. We hope that this fondness for the sainted pontiff will draw these people to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, so that they can venerate this great man, learn more about his life, and be inspired to pursue lives of holiness. 

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Miracles and More

Floribeth Mora Diaz, accompanied by her husband, Edwin, places the relic of St. John Paul II on a small table after presenting it to Pope 

Francis during the canonization Mass for Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 27, 2014 (CNS).

The Knights of Columbus have dedicated a page of their website to the history of their relationship with Saint John Paul II. Full of historical, biographical, and inspirational material, this page is worth taking a look at!

One notable article featured on the page is about the miracle that paved the way for St. John Paul II’s canonization. It says:

The miracle for canonization involved a Costa Rican woman, Floribeth Mora, who was suffering from a potentially fatal aneurysm. Mora said that she received an inexplicable healing after she invoked John Paul II’s intercession. According to Mora, she was watching a broadcast of the 2011 beatification ceremony for John Paul II and contemplating the pope’s image on a magazine when she heard a voice telling her not to be afraid and to get up. She recalled that shortly after, she felt better and renewed in spirit. When doctors later examined her, they could not offer an explanation for her healing. 

For more, read the full-length article here.

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

I Have Searched For You, Now You Come To Me

More than 1,000 pilgrims joined us for the feast of Saint John Paul II last Wednesday! The day’s celebrations included multiple Masses and community prayers, veneration of our first class relic of St. John Paul, and the opening of our new permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II.

Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, celebrated the second festal Mass. In his homily he said:

This great Holy Father was so close to the family of the Knights of Columbus. How much he loved us; how well he knew us; how constantly he encouraged us! Now in the Providence of God and thanks to the vision of our Worthy Supreme Knight, we are able to transform this building from a center to a shrine, a place of grace and holiness, truth and love, …not only, as it were, to repay St. John Paul II for his kindness to us but much more so, to proclaim the message of his life and pontificate within the Church and before the world.

Pilgrims who visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine last week heard this message as they walked through our exhibit on the life and legacy of the late Holy Father. They also learned more about John Paul II from Most Rev. Mieczysław Mokrzycki, former personal secretary to the great saint.

A Sign Of The Presence Of God

Our tour hit Orlando this past weekend, where Saint John Paul II’s relic was venerated at the 132nd Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention and at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe.

Msgr. Slawomir Oder, postulator for the cause of canonization of St. John Paul II, spoke at the convention’s prayer service before the relic. He said:

Saints are the sure sign of the presence of God in history! Saints are the most beautiful thing the Lord wants to say to us about Himself!

We can find in the book of the life of St. John Paul II the sure road which leads, through faith, humility, prayer, and love of neighbor, to full communion with God.

Oh blessed Saint John Paul II, pray for us this day, that we may also follow this sure road that leads to full communion with God!