2008 Woodie Awards
Live From Rome
Joe Prevatali, GU Alumnus
Issue date: 4/11/05 Section: In Memorarium
THERE IS CAUSE FOR REJOICING HERE! Karol Josef Wojtyla has entered into the eternal Wedding Feast of the Lamb. At the age of 84, the Pontiff entered into eternal life after an amazing life which brought him to the whole world to preach the Gospel. His journey to death was as holy as his journey through life.
Last Friday night more than 60,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square to keep vigil with the pope, and to ask God to give him the strength to abandon himself to the Divine Will at each moment as he approached death.
It was a most remarkable scene. I for one had never heard such silence from such a large group before (especially from a group of Italians). There was a real sense of prayer and reverence. Everyone seemed to know that what we were witnessing and doing was bigger than any conversation we could have about it at the time. It was as if we were praying beside his deathbed, only his hospital room happened to be Vatican City and there happened to be tens of thousands of other visitors.
There were also many young people in the crowd. I estimated that at least 2/3 of the crowd were age 35 or younger. It was indicative of John Paul II's success in reaching out to young Catholics, highlighted especially by the World Youth Days.
The crowd was even more impressive the following night - the night he was called home to heaven - both in its size and in its silence. When I arrived soon after the announcement of his death had been made, tens of thousands of people were overflowing out of the Square and onto the Via della Conciliazione. Again, it was the young who predominated, and when they cheered and applauded in appreciation of his life, they exuded the same lively spirit that had imbued his great pontificate.
I remember that when Mother Teresa died, somebody said in a homily at a memorial Mass for her that we ought to stop praying for her and start praying to her. I think the same can be said about Pope John Paul II.
Last Friday night more than 60,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square to keep vigil with the pope, and to ask God to give him the strength to abandon himself to the Divine Will at each moment as he approached death.
It was a most remarkable scene. I for one had never heard such silence from such a large group before (especially from a group of Italians). There was a real sense of prayer and reverence. Everyone seemed to know that what we were witnessing and doing was bigger than any conversation we could have about it at the time. It was as if we were praying beside his deathbed, only his hospital room happened to be Vatican City and there happened to be tens of thousands of other visitors.
There were also many young people in the crowd. I estimated that at least 2/3 of the crowd were age 35 or younger. It was indicative of John Paul II's success in reaching out to young Catholics, highlighted especially by the World Youth Days.
The crowd was even more impressive the following night - the night he was called home to heaven - both in its size and in its silence. When I arrived soon after the announcement of his death had been made, tens of thousands of people were overflowing out of the Square and onto the Via della Conciliazione. Again, it was the young who predominated, and when they cheered and applauded in appreciation of his life, they exuded the same lively spirit that had imbued his great pontificate.
I remember that when Mother Teresa died, somebody said in a homily at a memorial Mass for her that we ought to stop praying for her and start praying to her. I think the same can be said about Pope John Paul II.