Guest column: Remembering Pope John Paul II

By the Rev. David Hulshof

Today, I will be in Rome. A Catholic travel agency offered me a free trip to Rome if I would be a chaplain for them on a trip to the Holy Land in 2015. As the saying goes, it was an offer I could not refuse!

It will be a special trip for me to Rome, but it will not be my first. I lived and studied in Rome for four years from 1977 to 1981. It was at the beginning of the pontificate of John Paul II. I was a graduate student of theology and would have the opportunity to serve as deacon for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica on May 10, 1981. I would also have the opportunity to speak and/or be with him on about seven other occasions -- the last being in 2004, a year before he died.

One particular occasion that will always bring a smile to my face was on Feb. 22, 1979, the day we traditionally celebrate George Washington's birthday. Only five months after his papal installation, the pope had chosen our United States holiday to come and visit the 200 American seminarians and faculty living at the Pontifical North American College. The faculty had decided to have two California redwood saplings flown in to show solidarity between our American community with Pope John Paul II and the Vatican. One 3-foot sapling was planted by the pope on our property that day and the other was planted in the Vatican gardens less than one mile away.

I was one of four church sacristans at that time. We prepared the liturgical vessels for the Catholic mass we were to celebrate with the pope. The four of us had decided to give the pope a gift after the mass. But what do you give a pope? We decided to purchase a new zucchetto for him, the small white cap the pope wears. We knew where papal zucchettos were made and were able to buy one from an understanding tailor. After Mass, while he was changing his vestments, we told Pope John Paul II we had a gift for him. He was smiling as we placed a small white box in his hands. Upon opening the gift, and trying it on, he said as if somewhat surprised: "It fits!" Of course, we knew it would fit because we had inquired of the correct size. Subsequently, we asked the Pope whether he would do us a favor. I must admit, looking back, that was a brazen question from us! Nonetheless, he responded: "What would that be?" "Could we have the zucchetto you were wearing?" Graciously, he gave us the one he had been wearing. It now is kept in the archives of the North American College.

Today Pope Francis will make a solemn declaration that Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII are entitled to the full honors of the church and by the grace of God are officially declared to be saints. A saint by simple definition in the Catholic Church is someone who is in heaven with God. We all know saints. Members of family and friends who led exemplary lives while on Earth and have gone before us to eternal life. A protestant friend once said to me that being canonized in the Catholic Church is like being put in heaven's Hall of Fame. Nice analogy, I thought.

Who are these two to be canonized? Pope John XXIII, serving from 1958 to 1963, grew up as a good-humored son of Italian peasants. As pope he would lead the Catholic Church into a new era through the convening of Vatican Council II. He desired an "aggiornamento," a bringing up-to-date of the church. Pope John would make needed revisions to church law and offer a pastoral model of leadership. He made visits to the children's hospital in Rome and said to inmates in prison: "You could not come to me, so I came to you." He was particularly loved by the Italian people and had a childlike trust in God. Before going to bed at night, his prayer was: "I've done the best I could in your service this day, Oh Lord, I'm going to bed. It's your church. Take care of it." One can see similarities between his pastoral approach and that of our current Pope Francis.

Pope John Paul II, serving from 1978 to 2005, lived his younger years as a Polish athlete and actor. He spoke out against communism in his native Poland. He will be remembered for the 26 years (second-longest papacy ever) he served as spiritual leader for 1.2 billion Catholics. He traveled to 129 countries boldly proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. He established World Youth Day, constantly beckoning young and old alike: "Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ!" He worked extensively at ecumenism in the Christian tradition and persevered in establishing new relationships with world religions. Many historians acknowledge he had a significant role in the fall of communism in the 1980s. He wrote prolifically on the goodness and challenges of humankind. He was seriously wounded May 13, 1981, by Mehmet Ali Agca, a member of a militant fascist group. Two days after Christmas in 1983, he visited Agca in prison and forgave him. In the last years of his life, Pope John Paul II, in his own physical sufferings, would say the church benefits when it suffers. Suffering identifies us with the sufferings of our Savior. He would add: "What are my sufferings compared to the sufferings of Jesus?"

Today, I will be privileged to stand in the Vatican Square, Piazza di San Pietro, where I witnessed white smoke on a clear evening more than 35 years ago. It was Oct. 16, 1978. The newly elected pope spoke to us from the balcony and dedicated his service to the people of God. I am sure the crowd will be overwhelming today, but it will be a blessed occasion for me.

I will pray for all those whom I currently pastor in Cape Girardeau and for the benefit of fellow Christians throughout the world. I will pray for peace and unity among all world religions. I will ask God to help me to live my life in service to God's people, believers and nonbelievers alike, in the example of these two men. I will call to mind my formative years as a young man and the example given by the pope I knew. And I will listen for those words of Pope Francis when he will formally declare for the first time: "Saint John Paul II." And I will smile and nod in agreement. "It fits."

The Rev. David Hulshof is pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Cape Girardeau.