The Pilgrim's Way: Mysteries Of Light

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 seventh gallery: The Mysteries of Light. This gallery gives pilgrims the opportunity to take a step back from the accomplishments of St. John Paul II, in order understand the spiritual life that inspired everything he did.

The late Holy Father’s spirituality was especially nourished by a devotion to Mary, who showed him and shows all of us the way to her Son. She reveals so much about Jesus through the mysteries of the Rosary, and so St. John Paul II introduced the "Mysteries of Light" in 2002. 

The “Luminous Mysteries” reveal Jesus as “Light of the World” during His public life. Pilgrims who enter this gallery reflect on key moments of His public ministry: the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration of Jesus, and the Institution of the Eucharist.

The Mysteries of Light depicted in this gallery are original oil-on-wood icons painted by Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik, S. J., a renowned mosaic artist. Fr. Rupnik created the mosaics in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel at the Vatican, which was given as a gift to St. John Paul II in order to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his priesthood.

Are you familiar the Luminous Mysteries? Do any in particular stand out to you? Ponder this as you continue on pilgrimage with us.

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!