Happy Birthday, Pope St. John Paul II
Laura DeMaria
Even before I was a practicing Catholic, I had a great admiration for Karol Wojtyla, also known as Pope St. John Paul II. I admire his joy and love, his ability as a passionate communicator, the way he spoke and wrote about the freedom found only in Christ, his commitment to creating a culture of life, his generosity of spirit toward everyone, his love for the Blessed Mother, his incredible intelligence (actor, poet, playwright, fluent in something like 12 languages), and of course, the role he played in the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe. Today would have been his 100th birthday.
If you are ever DC once all this is past, do visit his shrine in Brookland:
The Saint John Paul II National Shrine
They have been holding some great online events, and I will be watching one later this week, one in a series about the Gospel of Life. More info:
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical The Gospel of Life, the Saint John Paul II National Shrine presents a series of lunchtime webinars on this message and how to accompany the elderly, women in crisis pregnancies, adults with intellectual disabilities, and perpetrators and victims of injustice.
You can register for that webinar series here.
Pope St. John Paul II, pray for us!