St Pope John Paul II
St Pope John Paul II: Feast Day, October 22nd
Pope John Paul II stepped forward, bowed and kissed the altar in front of him in the same way he always did before celebrating Mass. It was an action he had done thousands of times before, but on this particular day, the 2nd of June 1979, there was a different feeling running through him. There was a burning excitement in his heart. As he slowly raised his head, his gaze was met by a million pairs of eyes, each staring back towards him, watching his every move. As he raised his hand and made the sign of the cross they mirrored his motion and beaming smiles spread across their faces.
This was the opening Mass of John Paul II’s visit to his home country of Poland. The city was Warsaw and this was a day when the course of the country's history would begin to change forever.
Pope John Paul had left Poland to live and work in Rome 16 years earlier. At that time, he had been a bishop and his name had been Karol Wojtyla. However, a year before this momentous day he had been elected Pope by the College of Cardinals and, as is tradition, had changed his name.
Some people were surprised at the news that John Paul II had been chosen as the new pope. Firstly, he was not Italian. For nearly five hundred years, the Pope had been an Italian, but not this one. Instead he was from a country that many people were suspicious of.
For forty years Poland had been occupied by foreign powers. During World War 2 it was taken over by the Nazis. After they were defeated, the Russians moved in and Poland became part of the Soviet Union. This meant that the people were forced to follow a system called Communism.
Being part of a communist country made things very difficult for those who followed Jesus. The government kept an extremely close eye on the Church, making sure that the priests and bishops didn’t say anything against them. The communists wanted the Polish people to forget about their Catholic faith and put their trust in the government rather than God. They had even stopped the popes before John Paul visiting the country.
However, the Polish people’s faith could not be diminished and when they heard that one of their own had become Pope, they demanded that he be allowed to visit the country as soon as possible. And so, in June 1979 John Paul II arrived in Poland and his Mass in front of a million was only the start of his amazing tour. He traveled to many cities, led more Masses and brought a joy to the people that many had never thought they would feel again.
On the final day of his visit, in the city of Krakow, he prayed these words before the adoring crowds: “Let your Spirit come down. Let your Spirit come down and renew the face of the earth and the face of THIS LAND.”
The people began to cheer and then a murmur started to rise up like a wave into a chant and the chant became a bellowing chorus.
“WE WANT GOD! WE WANT GOD! WE WANT GOD!” the people cried with joy.
After this day, the communists in Poland realised that they would not be able to control the faith of the people.
Pope John Paul II realised something too. He saw that, unlike the popes before him, he could travel to different parts of the world. He made it part of his mission to be a pope that people could see with their own eyes. With that in his heart he set out to visit as many countries as he could. In total he visited 129 different countries. In 1982, he was the first ever pope to visit the UK and like in Poland, many hundreds of thousands flocked to greet him.
Pope John Paul II always tried to act as Jesus' representative on earth. This was put to the test in 1981. Meeting so many people did not come without risks and one day when he was traveling through a crowd in Rome a man ran forward and shot him. The Pope was hit but the bullet did not kill him. The gunman was arrested and sent to prison. Pope John Paul II gradually recovered. When he was strong again he decided that he wanted to go and see the man who tried to kill him, he wanted to say that he forgave him. Pope John Paul II went to the prison, walked into the cell and sat down beside the man. The prisoner was so moved by the Pope’s kindness and mercy that he began to cry and said how sorry he was. The two men talked together.
Pope John Paul II also knew that he had a vital role in guiding young people. He knew he must let them know about how much Jesus loved them. He launched a huge event called World Youth Day. It is still going today and every few years millions of young Catholics from across the globe travel to a city to celebrate their faith in a wonderful festival atmosphere. Pope John Paul II went to all nine World Youth Days when he was pope. The next World Youth Day is to be held in Portugal in 2023.
Pope John Paul II achieved many more things during his life. He was a great writer and taught the Church many valuable lessons in his encyclicals. He created hundreds of saints and spoke with wisdom and authority.
Pope John Paul II died in 2005. During his final days, many thousands of young people gathered outside the window of his room where he lay in bed. “I have been waiting for you.” He whispered. “Thank you for coming.”
His last words were “Let me go to the Father’s house.”
Pope John Paul II was loved more than any Pope before him. He had started as the Polish Pope but by the time of his passing he was a pope for people of all nations. The rules were changed so that work could be done to name him a saint in double quick time and in 2014 Pope Francis gave him that title. He has since been called by many St John Paul the Great.
St. John Paul the Great, pray for us.
