Pope John Paul II
His Death and Life
April 10, 2005:
Pope and Chicago’s Poles
He was the beloved bishop of Rome. He was the supreme pontiff of the Universal Church, the vicar of Christ. But to local Catholics of Polish descent, Pope John Paul II was “one of their own.”
Mementos of the pope
While thousands of Catholics from around the world will visit Pope John Paul’s tomb in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, Chicagoans can pay homage to the late pope by visiting places closer to home.
Pope of the young
When Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978, he was a youthful 58, active and athletic. At the time, he seemed to have a special charisma that drew children and young people to him.
April 24, 2005:
Memories of Pope John Paul II
"I read in The Catholic New World the request for stories about how the Holy Father touched us. Growing up Catholic, I really didn’t know much about my faith..."
Despite ‘hard-nosed’ image, new pope called gracious
As the word went out that white smoke had been spotted above the Sistine Chapel and the bells were ringing at St. Peter’s, Catholics around the Archdiocese of Chicago gathered around television sets to wait hear the new pope’s name.
Barely an hour after Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stepped to the balcony, several of Chicago’s auxiliary bishops and Father George Rassas, the vicar general, met with reporters on the driveway of Cardinal George’s residence to share their impressions of the new pontiff.
Archdiocesan Catholics were to welcome the new pontiff in prayer at special 5:15 p.m. Mass at Holy Name Cathedral April 24, the day of his installation at the Vatican.
Cardinal: ‘Good for church’
Cardinal George, clearly pleased with the election of Pope Benedict XVI, said he expected the term of the new supreme pontiff would be “good for the church.”
In a brief phone call from Rome April 20 following the first Mass the former Cardinal Ratzinger celebrated as pope, Cardinal George said, “Of course it’s going to be good for the church.” He said that’s at the core of the election process, “what is best for the church.” That’s why, he said, it’s not something that can be compared to the regular political process.
Church leaders extol pope as theologian; Africans concerned
Church leaders around the world hailed Pope Benedict XVI as a standard-bearer of Catholic values and a worthy successor to Pope John Paul II.
But while many statements extolled the pope’s stance in defending and promoting church doctrine, some African church officials expressed concern that the new pope may not accurately reflect the needs of southern Africa, where AIDS and abject poverty were devastating the region.
Going into conclave, Cardinal George thanks youths for their prayers
Before going into the conclave to cast a vote for the next pope, Cardinal George took time to send a special message to the young people of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“This is an awesome and challenging responsibility in which, when I was your age, I never imagined that I would participate,” the cardinal wrote in his April 14 letter.
Cardinal George was touched, he wrote, by the young people who came to Rome to pay their respects.
Couple gives icon, gets blessing
Religious leaders from around the world extended their prayers and condolences to the Catholic community on the death of Pope John Paul II, who was known for his efforts to extend interfaith dialogue.
But it’s not only the interfaith leaders who are joining Catholics in mourning.
Tobina Kahn of the House of Kahn Estate Jewelers displays on the wall an apostolic blessing extended from the pope to her parents, Edward and Adele Kahn, an Orthodox Jewish couple in 2000.
Visitors mourn pope at tomb, on television
People worldwide gathered in churches and in front of TVs as Pope John Paul II’s funeral was celebrated in Rome.
From predominantly Buddhist Myanmar to predominantly Catholic Latin American countries, in chapels, cathedrals and outside mosques, Catholics and non-Catholics remembered the Polish pontiff.
In the Middle East, the funeral was broadcast on Arab television networks, including Christian, Muslim and secular stations. Many Arabic stations aired live coverage from the Vatican as well as studio discussions between Catholic and Islamic leaders.
Memories from two conclaves
When Pius XII became pope March 2, 1939, Chicago’s Cardinal George Mundelein was among the cardinal-electors in the Sistine Chapel.
Though the cardinals are sworn to secrecy about details of the voting, Mundelein stuffed his pockets with cards, trinkets and other souvenirs from the papal election before returning to Chicago. They are now preserved in a small museum in the library of the seminary and town that bear his name at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Mundelein.
Procession honors the pope
Thousands of Chicagoans with ties to the Polish community came out to honor one of their own, joining in a street procession from Holy Trinity Polish Mission to St. Hyacinth Basilica, where priests fanned out into the street to offer Communion to the people .who couldn’t fit in the church.
About 10,000 people crowded the roughly four-mile route, closing the northbound lanes of busy Milwaukee Avenue to traffic. The group was led by members of local Polish organizations, including Polish Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops.
In Warsaw, mourners crowded city
The people of Poland bade a tearful goodbye to Pope John Paul II April 8 as they gathered to watch the pope’s funeral televised from Rome at locations around his homeland’s capitol.
At Pilsudski Square in central Warsaw, more than 100,000 Poles watched the broadcast on giant TV screens in the same place the pontiff celebrated his first Mass upon his return to Poland after his election as pope. Another 10,000 or more watched on a large screen in the Old Town section of Warsaw.
Pope connected with youth: St. Xav president
For Saint Xavier University President Judith Dwyer, the death of Pope John Paul II was simply too important an occasion to be marked from afar.
So Dwyer, who had spent time in Rome setting up a campus for St. Thomas University in Minnesota, joined the throngs of pilgrims from around the world who made their way to St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s funeral.
John Paul II dies
Cardinals gathering
Within hours of the April 2 death of Pope John Paul II, cardinals from around the world began gathering at the Vatican to honor the long-reigning pontiff in death and to begin preparations for the process to elect a successor.
Cardinal George left for Rome April 3 after celebrating the life the pope at Masses at Holy Name Cathedral and in his column in The Catholic New World.
“It is hard to imagine a world without Pope John Paul II,” he wrote in his column for this edition. “For over 26 years, he has been the living voice of the Catholic faith. He has been loved intensely, and not only by Catholics. He has been respected and admired. He has been shot at, criticized, denounced. As he leaves us, millions of people around the word feel his dying as their loss.”
Papal legacy is a focus on qualities of sainthood
During his long and fruitful pontificate, Pope John Paul II canonized hundreds of saints and beatified more than 1,200 blesseds (the last step toward becoming a saint). And, there are more than 2,000 cases for new saints now at the offices of the Holy See.
These numbers sound large, and they are. In comparison to past pontificates, they are astounding. In the 26-plus years of the pope’s reign, there has been a 150 percent increase in the number of canonizations and beatifications made over the previous 400 years. From the first canonization in 1594 through 1978, 296 people were canonized. From the first beatification in 1588 through 1978, 808 people were beatified.
From youth, prayer was fuel for the pope
As a child playing with his friends, little Karol Wojtyla would sometimes mysteriously disappear for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. One day, out of curiosity, a friend followed to see where he would go. She found him in his room, kneeling before his crucifix, arms extended in imitation of his savior, praying.
This was the beginning of two life-long habits. Karol, who became Pope John Paul II, often prayed with his body, at times with his arms extended, at times lying prostrate or kneeling for hours on end. And Wojtyla also continued his habit of leaving unexpectedly for long periods of time, to be found deep in prayer.
Pope and Chicago’s Poles
He was the beloved bishop of Rome. He was the supreme pontiff of the Universal Church, the vicar of Christ. But to local Catholics of Polish descent, Pope John Paul II was “one of their own.”
“They felt a special bond as countrymen,” said Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, “and that feeling went across the board whether they were born here or in Poland. It’s been tremendously positive for the Polish community. There was a time when Polish jokes were being told, but now we could hold our heads high.”
Camille Kopielski, who heads the Polish Women’s Civic Club, said she was “always proud of her heritage, but this pope has done so much. He has changed the image of Poles.”
Mementos of the Pope
While thousands of Catholics from around the world will visit Pope John Paul’s tomb in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, Chicagoans can pay homage to the late pope by visiting places closer to home.
Indeed, the Archdiocese of Chicago is dotted with sites that recall his three visits to Chicago—as archbishop of Krakow, Poland, in 1969 and 1976, and then as pope in 1979.
One stop that was on his itinerary for all three visits was Five Holy Martyrs Parish, 4327 S. Richmond St. It’s hardly surprising, then, that a stretch of the city’s 43rd Street has been renamed Pope John Paul II Drive. His biggest welcome there, of course, came on Oct. 5, 1979, when he visited the parish less than a year after his election to the papacy.
Grounded in faith, rooted in Scripture
As Pope John Paul II moved through his long pontificate, he came back again and again in his speeches and writings to the Scriptures, setting an example for Catholics around the world who began to read and study the Bible more than ever before in the decades following the Second Vatican Council.
Passionist Father Donald Senior, president of Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union and member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, recalled John Paul II’s long series of reflections on the Book of Genesis, his scriptural grounding for the “theology of the body” and his of the call from Luke to “put out into the deep” as the theme for his document on the new millennium.
Pope of the young
He created, energized World Youth Day, inspired thousands of teens
When Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978, he was a youthful 58, active and athletic. At the time, he seemed to have a special charisma that drew children and young people to him. As much as they enjoyed him, he enjoyed them even more.
But as the pope’s health waned and he became more frail, an odd thing happened. The young people—teenagers and young adults—took him more into their hearts, and he seemed to draw energy from them.
Pope faced the end of life bravely —and with faith
As Pope John Paul II’s life and pontificate drew to a close, his own way of living became a clear example of the church’s teaching on end-of-life issues.
That example extended the emphasis John Paul II placed on making clear the dignity of human life, from conception until natural death.
“A couple of years ago, I was watching the Way of the Cross on Good Friday from the Roman Coliseum, and he was there, bent over in his chair, drooling a little,” said Dr. Myles Sheehan, Jesuit priest and geriatrics specialist at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood. “It was an image of someone on the Way of the Cross himself.”
Chicago priest watched papacy develop from Rome
Youth, vitality, and a sparkling personality are the qualities Msgr. Robert Dempsey first associated with John Paul II. “I was in (St. Peter’s Square) when they announced his election,” said Dempsey, recalling his days as a seminarian studying in Rome. “It was like the whole thing was just reborn. … I mean, here’s a pope who likes to go skiing.”
Dempsey, now pastor of St. Philip the Apostle in Northfield, was 24 when John Paul II was elected. Although a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Dempsey spent 14 years living in Italy, the first four while studying at Rome’s North American College.
