With The Help Of God And With The Help Of Men

Today we at the Shrine are celebrating the anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s election to the papacy. On this day in 1978, he accepted over 26 years of courageous and loving service to Christ’s flock here on Earth.

In his address immediately after the election, the late Holy Father, after mentioning the grievous occasion of the death of John Paul I and after admitting that he may need some help with his Italian, humbly said:

           

…And so I present myself to you all, to confess our common faith, our hope, our trust in the Mother of Christ and of the Church, and also to start anew on this road of history and the Church, with the help of God and with the help of men (as quoted in George Weigel’s Witness to Hope, 256).

And start anew we did. As we continue to build our permanent exhibit on the life and legacy of Blessed John Paul II, slated to open mid-2014, we hope to capture this pivotal moment and others throughout his papacy.

Blessed John Paul II, Pray for Us!

To The Ends Of The Earth

After a month of prayerful anticipation, we at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine are grateful to once again have a Shepherd in the Chair of St. Peter. We welcome and embrace Pope Francis, who has already shown the Church that he is a prayerful man with a humble devotion to the Blessed Mother.

After the Habemus Papam announcement yesterday, Pope Francis addressed the Church:

And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and the people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood. My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with the help of my Cardinal Vicar, may be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.

Let us pray for Pope Francis, and let us especially ask for the intercession of Blessed John Paul II. May the Holy Spirit be with the new Holy Father, guiding him on this “journey of brotherhood” to the fruitful evangelization of the world.