Statement on the Death of
Pope John Paul II
MOST REVEREND DONALD W. WUERL, STD
BISHOP OF PITTSBURGH
It is with deep sadness that we receive the news of the death of Pope John Paul II and with fervent faith we pray that God will give him the eternal reward promised every good and faithful servant of the Gospel.
Our sadness at his death is tempered, however, with the realization of his extraordinary life and ministry and above all by his more than 26 years as Successor to Saint Peter as Bishop of Rome and Chief Shepherd of the Universal Church.
One of my most cherished memories of Pope John Paul II was his visit one month after his election as pope to the apartment where Cardinal John Wright, former Bishop of Pittsburgh, and I lived. It was my privilege as a young priest to serve in Rome in those days and I recall so vividly the Holy Father’s energy, stamina and the athletic strides with which he entered the room. I treasure as well the photo of that day and his warm paternal embrace and encouragement.
He has accomplished so much in the intervening years now concluded with his call to the Eternal Father. Some of those moments were profoundly personal and others were global in their scale and impact:
- A vigorous new pope, the 264th Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ, presiding at the wedding of a local street-cleaner’s daughter. This would herald regular visits to the more than 300 parishes of Rome;
- His first apostolic visit to Poland, setting the stage for a revolution that would change the world. He stands before a crowd 1 million strong in Warsaw’s Victory Square and they chant to him “We want God! We want God!”;
- His first pilgrimage to the United States in October 1979, and his travels that would take him to every continent to see and touch millions of souls,
- The attempt on his life and his visit of forgiveness in prison with the man who tried to kill him;
- His address in the synagogue of the Roman Jewish community, making him the first pope to ever visit a synagogue, and he would become the first pope as well to visit a mosque;
- The largest crowd in history gathering for his celebration of the closing Mass of World Youth Day in Manila;
The papal pilgrimage to Cuba, the celebration of the Jubilee Year of the New Millennium, the beautification of Mother Teresa – all just snapshots from a quarter-century of a pope that some are already calling “John Paul the Great.”
Yet while his papacy is in so many ways unlike others, at its heart Pope John Paul II was like all of his predecessors. In an unbroken line going back all the way to Peter, Pope John Paul II continued an apostolic, pastoral and teaching tradition as old as the Church itself.
While Pope John Paul II brought his own gifts and talents to the Chair of Peter, his fundamental task was the same as that of his predecessors, and of those who will come after him: to be Supreme Pastor of the Church, to feed his sheep, to be the rock upon which the Church will be built and to sustain and strengthen the faith of us all.
I recall particularly clearly the Holy Father’s first homily to the world at his Mass in which he inaugurated his pontificate. There he called upon all of us to open wide our hearts to Christ. “Do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power… Open wide the doors for Christ… Do not be afraid.”
His earthly life is now finished. His teaching, however, will go on: “Be not afraid!”
May God grant him eternal rest and peace.
The Life of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyla near Krakow on May 18, 1920, the second of two sons. After Wojtyla’s mother died when he was only nine, and his older brother, a doctor, died in 1932, he was raised by his father, a non-commissioned army officer, who died in 1941.
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, he discerned a calling to the priesthood, and he entered a clandestine seminary in Krakow in 1942, where he also participated in an underground theatre group. After the war, he continued his theological studies until his ordination on November 1, 1946. he would eventually complete doctorates in both theology and philosophy.
On July 4, 1958, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow by Pope Pius XII and was consecrated on September 28, 1958. As a bishop, he made important contributions to the Second Vatican Council, and in 1964, Pope Paul VI named him Archbishop of Krakow. He was created cardinal on June 26, 1967.
Elected pope on October 16, 1978, he was the first Polish pontiff in history and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
During his Papacy Pope John Paul encountered more people than any pope in history. In addition to the 8 million pilgrims who came to Rome during the Great Jubilee of 2000, over 17,350,000 people participated in his weekly audiences. He was also the first pope since the Apostle Peter to visit a synagogue and the first ever to enter a mosque.
Pope John Paul II published 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 42 apostolic letters and wrote three books: Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination and Roman Tryptych: Meditations, a book of poetry.
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