I treasured the opportunity to be with Blessed John Paul II
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
On Sunday, May 1, Pope John Paul II was declared “blessed,” and I rejoice with the church.
I have never otherwise knowingly met a “blessed” in my life but, along with so many others, I knew there was something very extraordinary and “graced” about this man of God who served as our pope for almost 27 years.
My opportunities to be with him included the several “ad limina” visits I made to Rome while I was bishop of Bismarck and after I came to St. Cloud. Blessed John Paul II made himself incredibly available to the bishops of the world at those “ad limina” visits — meetings during which we bishops reported on the status of our dioceses.
During those visits, the pope held individual private meetings with each bishop, concelebrated Masses with them, hosted luncheons and gave formal addresses to regional groups of bishops. Think of such a demanding schedule each and every week and meeting, over time, with more than 3,000 bishops of the world! Such a schedule alone would sap the energy of any pastor, not to mention all the other papal responsibilities and the many international pastoral visits he accomplished as our Holy Father.
Blessed encounters
I also had occasion to be with Blessed John Paul during several of his visits here in the United States, at the Mass in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1979, with the Native American peoples in Phoenix, Ariz., the permanent deacons in New Orleans in 1987, World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 and the bishops in Baltimore in 1995. All of those moments were “blessed” for all of us present.
Of course, the highlights for me were the individual brief meetings I had with him at each “ad limina” visit of the bishops. The photographs on my office wall capture the aging process well as it took place between the two of us. In 1978, he had looked at me and said in his thick English, “You are very young!” In 2005, my last opportunity to be with him, only months before his death, I pledged my prayers for him in our mutual diminishments.
What a privilege it has been for me to serve as a bishop in the time and life of “Blessed John Paul II.” I’ll not forget his words at his first Mass as our Holy Father: “Do not be afraid. Open, I say, open wide the doors to Christ!”
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.
+John F. Kinney
Bishop of St. Cloud
On Sunday, May 1, Pope John Paul II was declared “blessed,” and I rejoice with the church.
I have never otherwise knowingly met a “blessed” in my life but, along with so many others, I knew there was something very extraordinary and “graced” about this man of God who served as our pope for almost 27 years.
My opportunities to be with him included the several “ad limina” visits I made to Rome while I was bishop of Bismarck and after I came to St. Cloud. Blessed John Paul II made himself incredibly available to the bishops of the world at those “ad limina” visits — meetings during which we bishops reported on the status of our dioceses.
During those visits, the pope held individual private meetings with each bishop, concelebrated Masses with them, hosted luncheons and gave formal addresses to regional groups of bishops. Think of such a demanding schedule each and every week and meeting, over time, with more than 3,000 bishops of the world! Such a schedule alone would sap the energy of any pastor, not to mention all the other papal responsibilities and the many international pastoral visits he accomplished as our Holy Father.
Blessed encounters
I also had occasion to be with Blessed John Paul during several of his visits here in the United States, at the Mass in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1979, with the Native American peoples in Phoenix, Ariz., the permanent deacons in New Orleans in 1987, World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 and the bishops in Baltimore in 1995. All of those moments were “blessed” for all of us present.
Of course, the highlights for me were the individual brief meetings I had with him at each “ad limina” visit of the bishops. The photographs on my office wall capture the aging process well as it took place between the two of us. In 1978, he had looked at me and said in his thick English, “You are very young!” In 2005, my last opportunity to be with him, only months before his death, I pledged my prayers for him in our mutual diminishments.
What a privilege it has been for me to serve as a bishop in the time and life of “Blessed John Paul II.” I’ll not forget his words at his first Mass as our Holy Father: “Do not be afraid. Open, I say, open wide the doors to Christ!”
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.
+John F. Kinney
Bishop of St. Cloud