Remembering The Pope

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Remembering The Pope
by Max Bowen

At World Youth Day in 2002, Rich Alcott recalls a great sense of peace, which he said would never have happened had it not been for Pope John Paul II.

When the pope arrived on that summer day in Toronto, every head in the crowd turned, remembers Alcott, a member of Lifeteen, a youth group at the Holy Family Church in Rockland.

"Everything he said spoke to everyone," said Alcott. "He knew how to reach a group of teens."

Tim Brown,
Holy Family
Youth Minister

Tim Brown, a youth minister at the church who was also at the festival, remembers hearing "The Fragrance Prayer" being played as the pope's helicopter arrived. He recalled the silence that blanketed the crowd, that aside from a few people crying and praying, nothing could be heard save for the rotor blades as the helicopter descended. He said he felt lifted up by the energy in the crowd.

"When the crowd said 'We love you', the pope asked 'How do you know I don't love you more?'" said Alcott.

Over the years Reverend James Clark, Associate Pastor at the church has seen the pope on many occasions. Meeting him made him want to be a better priest, he said. The church held a special Mass on Tuesday and a Mass was held for the children at the Holy Family School that morning.

At the World Youth Day in Paris in 1997, it was expected that 50,000 people would show up, but Clark said over half a million people attended the event. He said by and large people in Paris had abandoned their faith, but when the pope arrived the transformation among the people was something that has stayed with Clark to this day.

"There is an honesty about the pope that is compelling," said Clark.

One instance that made a significant impact on Clark came when the pope visited the Turkish assassin who was in prison for trying to assassinate him in 1981. The pope was in the process of trying to bring down communism in the Soviet Union when the attempt was made on his life in Vatican City.

"His whole life was about his relationship with God," said Clark. "He rubbed off on whoever was near him."
Brown said the pope provided a model for those in the youth ministry, because he wrote on so many subjects. When young people had questions that Brown wasn't sure of, he would consult the pope's writings for the answer. He said the pope quantified confession, saying people should go once a month while he went once a week.
"He walked the walk and talked the talk," said Brown.

Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, Pope John Paul II was the first-ever Slavic and the first non-Italian to occupy the post in 455 years. Widely-traveled, John Paul II was the first pope to visit the White House, a synagogue, a mosque, and communist Cuba, and visited more than 120 countries. He served as pope for 26 years, the third-longest tenure in history. Only St. Peter, the first Pope, and Pope Pius IX in the 19th century, had longer pontificates. During his time as pope, he tried repeatedly to reconcile the Orthodox and Catholic churches, but was rebuffed at every attempt. He died on Saturday, April 2 at the age of 84.

While he never got the chance to see the pope, Reverend Allan Butler of the Saint Bridget Parish in Abington recalled the time John Paul visited Boston in October of 1978. He visited the Cathedral of Boston and gave a Mass on Boston Common. Butler said it was raining the whole time, but the pope didn't mind, saying it made the cathedral more beautiful.

"There's no doubt in my mind he'll go down as John Paul the Great," said Butler, referring to an honor which has only been bestowed on two other popes.

In the sanctuary of the church, to the right of the alter, stands a portrait of the pope bordered with black bunting. A Mass will be held at the school today (Friday) at 9 a.m., and students will do the readings alongside Thomas Boudreau, the Parochial Vicar for the church.

Butler described the Pope as a prolific man, and a gifted writer and poet. He said the pope was an avid traveler, and was the second to visit the United Nations. "He didn't like being in the Vatican because it was too confining," said Butler. "You couldn't keep him down."

This article originally appeared here on Friday, April 8, 2005.