Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Ballinteer Avenue, Dublin 16 E-Mail: editor@ballinteer.dublindiocese.ie
Pope John Paul II died on 2 April at 8.37pm Irish time and was laid to rest on 8 April 2005. We in the Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Ballinteer celebrated a special mass as a celebration of his life on Thursday 7th April 2005 at 7.30pm. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him. Ar dheis de go raibh a h-anam. ******************************************
His Holiness Pope John Paul II R.I.P 2 April 2005.  President Mary MacAleese's Tribute Pope John Paul II died on Saturday 2nd April at 8.37pm Irish time. President Mary MacAleese paid tribute to him, saying: 'For over a generation, Pope John Paul II was a pillar of the modern world, serving the Catholic Church and the cause of all humanity. He continued the work of his predecessors in interpreting and implementing the Second Vatican Council, that milestone in the long history of the church.'May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in Peace.  Quotations from Pope John Paul II Dear Brothers and Sisters who suffer in body and spirit, to you I express my heartfelt hope that you will learn to recognise and welcome the Lord who calls you to be witnesses to the Gospel of suffering, by looking with trust and love upon the face of Christ Crucified (cf. Novo Millenio Ineunte, 16) and by uniting your sufferings to his. Dear sick brothers and sisters, I would like to hold you in my arms, one after another, to show my affection and to tell you how close I am to you and show my solidarity with you.  I do so spiritually by entrusting you to the maternal love of the Mother of the Lord and ask her to obtain blessings and every consolation from her Son Jesus. (Greeting to the sick at Lourdes – 11 August 2004) In 2005, ten years on, Africa will once again host the principal celebrations of the World Day of the Sick, which will be held at the Sanctuary of Mary the Queen of the Apostles, in Yaoundé, Cameroon.  This choice will offer and opportunity to express practical solidarity towards the populations of that continent, who are afflicted by grave failings in health care.  In this way, a further step forward will be taken in the implementation of the commitment that the Christians of Africa, ten years ago or so, made during the third World Day of the Sick, namely to become ‘Good Samaritans’ towards their brothers and sisters in difficulty. (World Day of the Sick 2005)   PRAYERS Memorare Remember, O gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, My Mother. To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen. God’s Loving Care Father, I thank you for your promise that nothing can come between me and the love of Christ, even if I am troubled and worried when I am ill, even if I suffer, because I am certain that neither death nor life, nothing that is past, nothing here and now, nothing that is to come, can come between me and Your love, Father, in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Thousands of Catholics gathered Saturday in St. Peter's Square, praying and staring tearfully up at the pope's third-floor window.

Born Karol Józef Wojtyla, John Paul II left his mark occupying the third longest pontificate in the history of the Church.

Young Karol was born in Wadowice, a small city 35 miles southwest of Krakow, May 18, 1920.

The second of two sons born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska, his small family would not witness his rise to the papacy. His mother died in 1929, his brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and his father, a non-commissioned army officer, died in 1941.

He made his First Holy Communion at age 9, and was confirmed at 18. Upon graduation from high school in Wadowice in 1938, he and his father moved to Krakow where Karol entered the Jagiellonian University to study literature and philosophy.

The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939, and young Karol had to work in a quarry, and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being deported to Germany.

In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine seminary of Krakow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Krakow. At the same time, Karol Wojtyla was one of the pioneers of the "Rhapsodic Theatre," also clandestine.

After the Second World War, he continued his studies in the major seminary of Krakow, once it had re-opened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian University, until his priestly ordination in Krakow on Nov. 1, 1946.

Soon after, Cardinal Sapieha sent him to Rome where he worked under the guidance of the French Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange. He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on the topic of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. At that time, during his vacations, he exercised his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France, Belgium and Holland.

In 1948, he returned to Poland and was vicar of various parishes in Krakow as well as chaplain for the university students until 1951, when he took up again his studies on philosophy and theology. In 1953, he defended a thesis on the ethical system of Max Scheler at Lublin's Catholic University.

He later he became professor of moral theology and social ethics in the major seminary of Krakow and in the Faculty of Theology of Lublin.

On July 4, 1958, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow by Pope Pius XII, and was consecrated bishop Sept. 28, 1958.

On Jan. 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Krakow by Pope Paul VI, who made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.

Besides taking part in the Second Vatican Council with an important contribution to the elaboration of the constitution "Gaudium et spes," Cardinal Wojtyla participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.

Since the start of his pontificate Oct. 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II has completed 104 pastoral visits outside of Italy, and 146 within Italy. As Bishop of Rome he has visited 317 of the 333 parishes.

His principal documents include 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters.

The Pope has also published five books: "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October, 1994); "Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination" (November, 1996); "Roman Triptych – Meditations," a book of poems (March, 2003); "Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way" (May, 2004) and "Memory and Identity" (February, 2005).

John Paul II has presided at 147 beatification ceremonies, proclaiming 1,338 blesseds, and 51 canonization ceremonies, canonizing 482 saints. He has held 9 consistories in which he created 231 (+ 1 in pectore) cardinals. He has also convened six plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals.

The Holy Father has presided at 15 synods of bishops: six ordinary (1980, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 2001), one extraordinary (1985) and eight special (1980, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998(2) and 1999).

His contact with people has exceeded that of any other Pope. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims have participated in the more than 1,160 General Audiences held on Wednesdays, and more than 8 million pilgrims participate in the events of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone.

Pope John Paul II died at 8.37pm Irish time on Saturday 2 April 2005 and was laid to rest on 8 April 2005.    We in Ballinteer Parish are united in prayer with people throughout the world for the repose of his soul.   Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him. Ar dheis de go raibh a h-anam.

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