Memoirs of Pope John Paul Ii

He gave me a strong impact, with his gift for immemorial gestures; he embraced the sick and handicapped he kissed the soil of the nation on his first vist. As an occupant of the Chair of St Peter, he brought the world, a message to everyone his defense for the poor, a substance to carry on as a church in her journey across cultures. The awesome volume of his writings, reveal the kind of pope he was as a theologian suffused with faith; as a philosopher endowed with reason. In his very person, he was charismatic as a teacher and defender of faith, he set new directions, left a legacy and continued the Roman Curia, multicultural. On themes expounded in his documents, speeches, homilies and reflections, he brought the Gospel vis-a-vis the Magisterium in all spheres that concern contemporary life. As the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, since the Netherlander Hadrian VI in 1552 and ever since his election to papacy, by any measure, he’s a man for all seasons. Albeit, he’d his disappointments, his own share of sorrows over clergy in misbehavior – the scandal of sexual abuse, particularly in this nation, he remained firm and prayerful as a leader. In spite of his frailty, Parkinson’s disease and other ailments he continued his journey with deep faith and sacrifice. his interreligious relations made a difference, he visited mosques, synagogues and convened those other leaders. He canonized saints more than 470 of them, he beatified more than a thousand men and women. such a milestone in the life of our Catholicism, the call to holiness woven in discipleship. He impressed believers of every faith with his greatness in many ways; like one of his favorite phrases, quoting what St Augustine once said, “Vobis sum episcopus, vobiscum christianus,” he celebrated life, helped shape Christendom with analyses of countless human lives.