With all the popular hype about good Pope Francis, it would be easy to become distracted from and forgetful of the holiness, zeal, and apostolic courage of Blessed Pope John Paul II, who will one day be known around the world as "John Paul the Great". In fact, the 2014 ORDO hails Blessed John Paul II for his "exceptional apostolic zeal". Here, in full, is the precis:
Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. As archbishop of Poland, he took part in the Second Vatican Council. On October 16, 1978, he was elected Pope and took the name John Paul II. His exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people, and the sick, led him to make numerous pastoral visits throughout the world. He left as a heritage to the Church a rich Magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the revised Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church and Eastern Churches, and the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Pope John Paul II departed peacefully in the Lord on 2 April 2005. Pope Benedict XVI beatified him on 1 May 2011. (Emphasis mine.)
In the United States of America, the optional memorial of Blessed John Paul II is on October 22.
Let us never forget this great Pope and the teachings he promulgated. For John Paul did not promulgate his own thought; the teachings he promulgated (for instance, the
Catechism of the Catholic Church) are the teachings of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus the Christ, the Son of God made man for our salvation.
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever !
