New Parish: Blessed Pope John Paul II

Here in the Northeast we often see stories of parish closings - Philadelphia, Boston, NYC, etc...  so it is refreshing to see new parishes being established where we are growing:

New Catholic Church opening in Cedar Springs

"Cedar Springs, Mich. (WZZM) The Diocese of Grand Rapids is opening a new parish in northern Kent County.

Bishop Walter Hurley announced plans for a new Catholic parish today. It will be called Blessed John Paul II in Cedar Springs. The diocese has purchased land from the former home of Pioneer Christian Reformed Church, which consists of a church, church hall and rectory on about 2.9 acres.

The diocese also purchased approximately eight acres of adjacent vacant land that is part of a nearby industrial park located at 13911 Northern Springs Drive. Once the new parish community has grown, the diocese says there will be sufficient land for the construction of a new and larger church."

(montage by Mr. Devlin)

Joannes Paule Magne, ora pro nobis

April 2nd, 2008 - the 3rd anniversary of his death.

I have seen this on several blogs, so I can't remember where I saw it first:

The Storm Theatre in NYC is hosting a Karol Wojtyla Theatre Festival. They will be staging Jeremiah, Our God's Brother, and The Jeweler's Shop.

"T’hee zichro Baruch. [May his memory ever serve as a blessing.]"

I like this expression I stumbled upon. It comes from a local rabbi's reflection on the death of Pope John Paul II.

I went to see the Long Island Philharmonic at St. Agnes Cathedral. They were performing Faure's Requiem in honor of Pope John Paul the Great on the anniversary of his election. The concert was to honor JPII's commitment to interfaith and ecumenical dialogue.

LI Philharmonic to honor Pope John Paul II at Oct. 16 concert

"In celebration and memory of Pope John Paul II’s life, the Long Island Philharmonic will perform a free concert on October 16 at St. Agnes Cathedral here at 7:30 p.m.

One hundred musicians — an orchestra and chorus — will perform Requiem composed by Gabriel Fauré, a French composer who lived from 1845 to 1924."

Very nice, I will try to be there.

World leaders pay tribute to Poland's Solidarity

"The movement's leader, Lech Walesa, has often credited John Paul with inspiring the birth of the movement with his historic 1979 visit to his homeland, during which he celebrated Masses that electrified the nation and subtly criticized the communist regime."

"John Paul II Day" Instituted in Poland

Towering figure of John Paul II

"The statue, weighing nearly 1,800 pounds, was cast in Krakow and flown to New York last week aboard a German commercial airliner. An honor guard of 20 men, all members of St. Frances de Chantal, escorted it from Kennedy Airport to the church.

"People are surprised when they see it," said Kurowski. "It is so big."

One reason for the surprise is that most people who pass it are ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are by far the largest religious group in the neighborhood. "But they know who Pope John Paul was, and so they pause to look, too," Kurowski said."

Was Karol Wojtyla the Greatest Mass Murderer of the 20th Century?

SANTO SUBITO???

Sainthood Process for Pope John Paul II Opened

The Rogito of Pope John Paul II placed in his coffin can be read at EWTN.

It begins: "In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on April 2 of the year of the Lord 2005, at 9:37 p.m., as Saturday was coming to an end, and we had already entered the day of the Lord, octave of Easter and Sunday of Divine Mercy, the beloved pastor of the Church, John Paul II, passed from this world to the Father. The whole Church, in prayer, accompanied him in his passing."

UPDATE: They had this on Cultural Catholic but took it down, so I linked to EWTN instead.

"The German-born cardinal choked with emotion. "Santo! Santo!" the crowd responded, waving banners reading "Santo Subito - Immediate Sainthood."

Did cigar-boy Bill Clinton really say this about the Pope?

"He's like all of us - he may have a mixed legacy"

If so, then mark your calendars because this may be the stupidest thing ever said by a human being.

John Paul the Great

"Italy appealed to pilgrims to stay away from central Rome on Wednesday, saying it was already saturated with millions of faithful desperate to see Pope John Paul's body ahead of Friday's funeral. "


This is beautiful to see. Now remind me again, who is this Hans Kung? Who is this Richard McBrien? Charles Curran?

John Paul the Great
I have heard people call him John Paul the Great for years now. This article discusses this title and notes correctly that it is not an official designation, but a popular one. I think it would be great for the next Pope, or some other official, to wait until World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne to ask the crowds of young people if they wish for John Paul II to be forever know as "The Great". Let the "official" decision be made by the people so close to this Pope.

This article focuses on reflections on the Pope from a few young religious from the Province of Meribah (Marianists) on Long Island. This community runs Chaminade and Kellenberg High Schools. Mentioned are Brothers Stephen Ries 20, Ryan Sheehan 27, and Daniel Griffin 20.

CNBC's money guy Laurence Kudlow has a blog and has a post on Pope John Paul II that is beautiful. In the post, Kudlow talks about his 1997 conversion to the Catholic Church - it is well worth a read.

POPE JOHN PAUL II 264th Pontiff - October 16, 1978 to April 2, 2005


Summary of his life can be found on Cultural Catholic.

Good info on what happens now at EWTN