Happy 22nd Anniversary to His Holiness
part two
THE PAPAL YEARS
1978:
Upon the unexpected death of John Paul I on September 28th, Cardinal
Wojtyla rejoins the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel to elect
another Pope. John Paul I whose reign lasted on 33 days, was the first
pope to choose a double name. Known as the "smiling Pope", John Paul I
declined to have a coronation ceremony.
On October 16th
White Smoke curls up over the Vatican: Cardinal Wojtyla is elected the 163rd
successor to St. Peter and chooses the name John Paul II.
He becomes the first Polish Pope, the first non-Italian Pope since Adrian
VI in 1523, and the youngest pontiff since Pope Pius IX one hundred years ago.
Like his predecessor, John Paul II declines the papal tiara and is
installed in an outdoor Mass in St. Peter's Square.
1979:
John Paul II begins an odyssey that would identify him as the "Pilgrim
Pope": with the most extensive travel itinerary in the history of the
papacy. He first visits the Dominican republic, the Bahamas, and Mexico
then returns to his native Poland, then to Ireland and the USA (NY, Boston,
Phil., Des Moines, Chicago and Was. D.C.) and Turkey. On March 4th he issues
his first encyclical Redemptor Hominis, on redemption and the dignity of
the human race.
1980:
The Holy Father travels the globe to various provinces of Africa (Zaire,
Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Volta, and Ivory Coast); then to France, Brazil, and
W. Germany. In the Fall he presides over his first Synod of Bishops and
the 5th Synod Assembly, "The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern
World" and then issues his 2nd encyclical - on the mercy of God: Dives in
Misericordia.
1981:
John Paul II is shot in the abdomen on May 13th, Feast of Our Lady of
Fatima in St. Peter's Square by would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca who John
Paul would later forgive. During recovery, he reads about Fatima and Sister
Faustina's Diary on Divine Mercy. Prior to the incident, he travels to the
Philippines, Guam, and Japan with stopovers in Pakistan and Alaska. He
issues his 3rd encyclical, (on human work); Laborem Exercens.
1982:
John Paul II resumes his world visits traveling to Africa, Portugal, Great
Britain, Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, and Spain. He re-establishes
credentials with Britain with first ambassador to Vatican since Henry VIII,
450 years ago and meets with Anglican Archbishop Runcie at Canterbury.
Also meets with Ronald Reagan and later Yassir Arafat.
1983:
John Paul II formally approves revision of the Code of Canon Law for the
Latin Rite, replacing a code of 1918. Unseals the Holy Door in St. Peter's
and calls for study of decline of vocations in the U.S. since Vatican II
and calls on the super powers to negotiate an end to the arms race. The
Shroud of Turin is bequeathed to the Pope by King Umberto. Travels include
Central America, Poland again, Lourdes, and Austria.
1984:
On the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th, he officially consecrates the world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary per Our Lady's request at Fatima. To emphasize the conversion of Russia, the Holy Father charges Bishop Paolo Hnilica, S.J. to simultaneously consecrate Russia from within the heart of Red Square in Moscow. The bishop smuggles his missal into the bowels of the Kremlin concealed by the Soviet national paper Pravda which means in Russian, "Truth." John Paul II holds first international gathering of young people at the
Vatican. He establishes diplomatic relations with the USA and meets
President and Nancy Reagan again. He issues Gift of Redemption: Redemptionis
Donum on religious life and condemns anti-Semitism and Apartheid. Visits
South Korea, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Canada, Spain, and
Puerto Rico.
1985:
John Paul II inducts 28 new members into the College of Cardinals (an
all-time high of 152). Encyclical on death of Saint Methodius: Slavorum
Apostoli; opens secret archives of St. Pius X and Benedict XV; Fr. Junipero Serra,
OFM declared venerable, and second Extraordinary General Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops on 20th Anniversary of Vatican II. He travels to South
America (Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago); Africa, Belgium,
Holland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
1986:
John Paul II establishes World Youth Day in Buenos Aires on Palm Sunday.
Two encyclicals: Redemptoris Mater, on the Blessed Mother and the pilgrim
Church for Marian Year (June 7, 87 to Aug. 15, 1988); and Sollicitudo Rei
Socialis, on social concerns. Calls for unity with Orthodox Church.
Visit's South America, W. Germany, Poland, and 2nd time in US (Miami;
Columbia, SC; New Orleans; San Antonio, Phoenix, LA; Monterey; SF; and
Detroit and Canada.
1988:
John Paul II takes active interest in the communist countries issuing an
Apostolic letter Euntes in Mundum commemorating 1000 years of the baptism
of Saint Vladimir of Kiev and the Russian Church. His travels take him to
Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Austria, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho,
Swaziland, Mozambique, South Africa, and France.
1989:
John Paul II attends 2nd international World Youth Day at Shrine of
Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Meets with President George Bush and Mikal Gorbachev
separately and establishes official diplomatic relations with Poland while
restoring a bishop in the Minsk, Byelo-Russia for the first time since
WWII. Visits Madagascar, Reunion, Zambia, Malawi, Norway, Iceland,
Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Korea, Indonesia, East Timor, and Mauritius.
1990:
John Paul II names 12 Bishops for 11 Dioceses in Romania, re-instating the
Church (the first time in 42 years). He establishes diplomatic relations
with Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. He visits Cape Verde,
Guinea, Bissau, Mali, Burkina, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, Curacao, Malta,
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Ivory Coast.
1991:
John Paul II attends World Youth Day at Polish Shrine of our Lady of
Czestochowa on August 15 celebrating with an estimated 1.5 million people
at the closing Mass. He issues 9th encyclical: Centesimus Annus in honor
of centenary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (on capital and labor).
Meets with bishops and President Bush to assess Church's role at end of
Gulf War. Convenes European Synod of Bishops. He visits his homeland of Poland again
as well as Hungary, Brazil, and gives thanks personally to Our Lady at Fatima for her intercession ten years prior when he was shot on her feast day.
1992:
John Paul II undergoes surgery for removal of a benign intestinal tumor in
July but recovers to begin 500th anniversary of the beginning of
Christianity at Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Approves
publication of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, first such in over 400
years. He makes visits to Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Angola, and Sao Tome
and Principe.
1993:
On Divine Mercy Sunday the Holy Father beatifies the "Apostle of Mercy" - Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalska. John Paul II meets with European leaders of all faiths at Assisi for a
prayer summit for peace and travels to Denver to preside at World Youth Day
1993 culminating with Holy Mass on August 15th. The Holy Father conducts
Ad limina visits for all U.S. bishops. He also travels to Benin, Uganda,
and Sudan in Africa; Madrid, Huelva and Seville, Spain for close of
International Eucharistic Congress; Jamacia and makes his first trip to
Albania while continuously pleading for an end to the war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. On the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - August 6 he issues his tenth
encyclical Veritatis Splendor - The Splendor of Truth which deals with moral teaching.
1994:
After delays in the translation, the new Catechism of the Catholic Church is finally released.
The Holy Father proclaims 1994 the "Year of the Family" and issues a special Letter to Families in February. John Paul calls the Synod of African Bishops as well as conducting a Synod on Religious Life. He visits Zagreb in Croatia where millions cheer him and he shares their grief over the war in their homelands. Towards the end of the year he receives countless petitions requesting him to proclaim Mary as Coredemptrix, Advocate and Mediatrix of all graces. The surgery John Paul II had on his hip earlier in the year forces him to cancel trip to U.S. where he was to address the United Nations Assembly.
1995:
Recovered from his surgery, the Holy Father visits the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland again then the Philippines where a record four million turn out for his Papal Mass. On March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation he issues his eleventh encyclical Evangelium Vitae called the Gospel of Life. Two months later, on the Solemnity of the Ascension, he releases his twelfth encyclical Ut Unum Sint - "That They May All Be One" on the Church's commitment to ecumenism. He expresses grave concern for the slaughters in Rwanda and Sudan on his trip to Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa. He beatifies Edith Stein. He finally makes it to the U.S. eastern seaboard in October where he addresses the UN and draws record crowds in the pouring rain in stadiums in New York and Baltimore. He plays a major influence from afar in the Beijing UN Conference for Women. He wraps up the year in December by debuting the Vatican on the Internet at Christmas.
1996:
The Holy Father issues an Apostolic Constitution on the Vacancy of the Apostolic See and the election of the Roman Pontiff with Universi Dominici Gregis. He visits Guatamala, Venezuela, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, as well as Tunis. He releases another book "Gift and Mystery" that would rise to the bestseller list just as "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" had. He calls for unity with the Orthodox and condemns President Clinton for his late-term abortion veto as he assails the United States for their stance on abortion and plays a major pivotal role at the UN Conference on World Population in Egypt by rallying the third world countries to vote down mandatory abortion and population control. Score one for the Culture of Life! In October he undergoes an appendectomy operation and celebrates his 50th year - his Golden Anniversary - as a priest on the solemnity of All Saints with a special concert at the Vatican as they tell him: "It is your song that unites the Church."
1997:
The Pope begins the year by dedicating it to Jesus Christ the Son for the first year of Jubilee 2000 as the countdown to the millennium begins. The Holy Father visits Sarajevo in Bosnia, the Czech Republic again, and Lebanon before jetting to Brazil to celebrate the "World Family Meeting." Despite consistent rumors that the Holy Father has Parkinson's Disease, John Paul II confounds all the so-called medical and media experts by just going and going and going. Even in the summer heat of Paris he outlasts the youth who clamor for shade at World Youth Day in August where the tremendous unexpected turnout astounds prognosticators and local clergy who expected far fewer people. The Pope meets with Mother Teresa and her successor Sister Nirmala in the Spring. It would be their last meeting, these two modern-day saints, for the Holy Father would mourn her death along with the entire world in the Fall. He caps the year by declaring Saint Therese of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church - the third woman to be granted such an honor, and closes the year with the Synod of the American Bishops combining North, Central and South America for what was called the Synod of the Americas.
1998:
The Holy Father dedicates the second year of the Jubilee to the Holy Spirit and makes his first ever trip to Cuba where he is wildly received by the faithful as a stern and cautious Fidel Castro looks on. John Paul II calls for greater freedom for the people religiously and politically and calls for an end to the U.S. Embargo. Returning to Rome he conducts another Consistory where he elevates 22 new Cardinals including Cardinal James Francis Stafford, former Archbishop of Denver who hosted World Youth Day and now a member of the curia, and Cardinal Francis George, OMI the new head of the Chicago archdiocese, replacing the departed Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. In early May he is shocked and saddened by the murder of his loyal Swiss Guard Alois Estermann and his wife by a disgruntled underling Swiss Guard. Alois was the young man who cradled and protected the Holy Father as the Popemobile sped away in St. Peter's Square in 1981. The Holy Father had just granted Estermann the highest honor of Commandant of the Guard and was to have been installed a few days later. John Paul II again gives thanks on the seventeenth anniversary of his near-death shooting episode and enjoy a quiet, relaxed 78th Birthday at the Vatican. The Summer found the Holy Father traveling to Austria before releasing his Apostolic Letter Ad tuendam fidem on protecting the faith. In late August the Pope's personal surgeon died. It was the same physician who had helped save his life after being shot in 1981 in St. Peter's Sqquare. On September 28, he celebrated his 40th anniversary as a bishop and in early October beatified Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac in Zagreb, Croatia and canonized Saint Edith Stein the following week at St. Peter's. On October 15 he released his 13th Encyclical Fides et Ratio which is best described as his "last will and testament" on the fundamental questions of human existence. The next day he became the 13th longest reigning pontiff in the history of the Church by marking the 20th anniversary of his pontificate on October 16. As the year wound down speculation arose as to when, not if, the Holy Father would visit Vietnam and Iraq, birthplace of Abraham. Finally, on November 29, the Papal Bull announcing the Jubilee of the Year 2000 was released entitled Incarnationis Mysterium which also brought back the focus on Indulgences. The year concluded with the closure of the Oceania Synod of Bishops.
1999:
The Holy Father dedicates the third year of the Jubilee to God the Father and extends an impassioned plea for peace in Kosovo and the Balkans which falls on deaf ears in the U.S. and Bill Clinton. John Paul II was cheered during his trip to close the Synod of the Americas at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Mexico City and during his one day stay in the heartland - gateway to the west - St. Louis where he packed stadiums and auditoriums. His decision to waive the five-year moratorium period in order to expedite the expected beatification of Mother Teresa also received favorable reviews. A bad case of the flu bug strikes the holy pontiff but, to the surprise of those who expected him to decline, he bounces back stronger than ever and rises to the top of the charts with the release of a new CD entitled "Abba Pater" under the SONY label. On May 2 nearly a million faithful flooded the eternal city for the beatification of the popular mystical priest and stigmatist Padre Pio. A few weeks later John Paul II became the first pontiff ever to travel to a predominantly Orthodox country and the fears of so many were alleviated by prayer and the tremendous reception, respect and love afforded him by the Orthodox people astounding the experts. The success of this trip was tempered by continued bombing of Kosovo and Serbia and NATO's in-your-face attitude that the Holy Father greatly decries. After relaxing 79th Birthday at the Vatican the Holy Father returned to his native homeland of Poland for an unusual two weeks in a trip many called his last there and was filled with nostalgia. In September he appealed to all parties and the world to save East Timor and end the violence there, meeting with Bishop Carlos Belo. In his neverending quest to bring all God's children together, he approves of the milestone accord signed by both the Church and Lutherans on October 31 in Augsburg, Germany. In November he traveled to India to officially close the Asian Synod of Bishops, then to Pakistan and ex-Soviet Georgia before returning to rest up from a grueling journey where temperatures went from extremely hot in India to icy cold in T'bilisi, Georgia.
In December the Holy Father oversees the celebration of the new lights in St. Peter's Square and a complete new facelift that makes the Vatican seem like new with its bright, natural exterior. He officially begins the great Jubilee Year 2000 for the universal Church on Christmas Eve by opening the Holy Door at St. Peter's, inviting all to cross the threshold of hope with him in crossing into the New Millennium for Christ and finishes out the year by opening the Holy Door at St. John Lateran.
2000:
The Holy Father begins the Jubilee Year at St. Mary Majors on the Solemnity of the Mother of God on January 1st opening the Holy Door there and then followed by St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls in an ecumenical service on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. In February he receives Cardinal John J. O'Connor during the latter's final visit to the Vatican before his death on May 3rd. Despite negotiations with Iraq, the government cannot assure security for the Pope to travel to their country and the land of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham as the beginning of a historic "Jubilee Journey" in retracing salvation history. Instead, a special ceremony is held in March at Paul VI Hall, decorated with mementos and relics of Ur. On March 12th, the First Sunday of Lent, His Holiness is the celebrant for an extraordinary, unprecedented ceremony of Reconciliation on behalf of the Church for all wrongs committed by humans representing the Church over two millenniums. He is joined by leading prelates of the Roman Curia. Afterwards he flies to Egypt and Mt. Sinai, in the chronological order of salvation history, praying at the spot believed to be where Moses received the Ten Commandments. The following week he heads out on the historic Holy Land leg of his "Jubilee Journey" landing in first in Jordan where he is welcomed by the young King and overlooks the promised land where Moses watched from afar. The next day he makes his entrance into Jerusalem, met by the Prime Minister and President of Israel to a surprisingly warm welcome. The next day he traveled to Bethlehem and the spot where the Christ-child was born, followed the next day by a stirring day in which he celebrated Holy Mass for a select few in the Upper Cenacle Room believed to be the site of the Last Supper when the Holy Eucharist was instituted. That afternoon he visits Yad Veshem, the Jewish Holocaust Memorial where he humbly shuffles across the floor to meet with survivors of the terrible tragedy during World War II, including reuniting with Jewish friends from his boyhood and a woman whose life he saved. On Friday, March 24, the Holy Father celebrates Mass on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee before hundreds of thousands young worshippers who revive his physical spirits. On the Feast of the Annunciation he says Mass in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth before returning to Jerusalem where he meets with Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish leaders, then prays at the Garden of Olives and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where he makes an unscheduled return to pray. He leaves Sunday afternoon having brought great peace and hope through his historic visit. Returning to Rome, he surprisingly doesn't rest that much in resuming his duties at the Vatican in preparation for Holy Week, including washing of the feet on Holy Thursday and authoring special Station of the Cross prayers for Good Friday at the Colosseum. He completes the Triduum with a moving Easter Vigil Mass and Easter Sunday Mass, followed by his annual Urbi et Orbi address. For the first time ever a Pontiff celebrates both the Easter Vigil and Easter Mass outside in St. Peter's Square before overflowing worshippers. A week later the crowds swell even more, spilling out into the side streets as he canonizes his fellow Pole Saint Faustina Kowalska, a fulfillment of a personal crusade he had been on since being Bishop of Krakow. On May 13th he travels to Fatima to fulfill yet another crowning jewel of his papacy by honoring Our Lady. In her statue at Fatima her crown contains the bullet taken from his side nineteen years before. The crowning glory is the beatification of the young Fatima Shepherds Blessed Jacinta Marto and her brother Blessed Francisco Marto with the third shepherd, Sister Lucia, now 92, in attendance. After celebrating his 80th birthday on May 18th, the Holy Father greeted countless Jubilee participants on a weekly, almost daily basis throughout the summer including an overwhelming wave of love from the youth of the world during the historic World Youth Days in August when all records were broken with the largest gathering ever in this eternal city. Following that the Pope beatified two of his predecessors - Blessed Pope Pius IX and Blessed Pope John XXIII along with three other blesseds. For the Jubilee of Bishops coinciding with the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary this month that same statue spoken of at Fatima was brought to Rome where His Holiness entrusted the Church and the world to Mary's Immaculate Heart for the new Millennium a day after he led the Rosary with a worldwide audience participating in praying for peace for all and the upholding of the Sanctity of Life in all stages. This past weekend he celebrated the Jubilee of Families. With a demanding schedule that includes special Jubilee events almost every week, his stamina is amazing for someone who has recently turned 80. A man of 50 can't keep up with this man who is driven by love - love of God, His Blessed Mother, the saints and all God's children in his undaunting quest to lead all across the threshold of Hope. Happy Anniversary, your Holiness. May your powerful and blessed pontificate continue as long as God wills!!!
Prayers and Blessings for a very Happy Anniversary
to our beloved John Paul the Great!
October 16, 2000
volume 11, no. 202
22nd ANNIVERSARY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II's PONTIFICATE - Part Two
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