Pope John Paul II

Today, April 2, the Church commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the death of St. John Paul II in 2005, whose feast is celebrated on October 22. He was canonized by Pope Francis along with St. John XXIII in 2014. The article below is taken from the website of t he Saint John Paul II National Shrine SAINT JOHN PAUL II Introduction “Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’ Or this saying: ‘No one can live a trial life; no one can love experimentally.’ An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads t...