7 Interesting Things about John Paul II to tell your Catholic kids

1.

There was a John Paul I and he was only the pope for 33 days!

Saint John XXIII died in 1963 (what a tumultuous year that was!) He was remembered for opening the Second Vatican Council aka Vatican 2. His successor, Paul VI was known for upholding the church’s teaching on family life, particularly when it came to the ban on contraception via the encyclical Humane Vitae. He passed away in 1978.

When Albino Luciani was elected as pope, the world seemed appreciative that he took the name John Paul as a nod to those two beloved popes. It reflected the type of pope we were getting, but we never really got a chance to find out.

I remember it as if it were yesterday.  I was sleeping dreamily in the room I shared with my little sister back in our farmhouse in Michigan.  Sis came into the room and shook me on the shoulder.

“Hey get up.  The Pope is dead.”

Well that was old news.  “The Pope died weeks ago.  Leave me alone.” As I started to turn back to my slumbers, sis laughed and said, “It’s the new Pope that died!”

And that’s how I found out that Pope John Paul I had passed away, a mere 33 days into his pontificate.

I remember being astonished at the news and wondering how all of the cardinals and people of Rome would feel about gathering again to pick a new pope after having just completed the process a mere month prior!

2.

Most of the Popes have been from Italy!

I guess that’s not surprising since Rome is in Italy. But until John Paul II, the streak of Italian popes stretched back to the 1500s.

So the world waited and watched – and my family was with them, glued to our t.v. set.  I remember welcoming the excitement when a Polish man had been elected pope. The world was thrilled.

3.

Older kids might remember John Paul II as frail and wheelchair-bound. But in 1978 he was young!

Pope John Paul II was only 58 at his election and his youth captured the hearts of young and old alike.  I remember telling my kids that when he was first elected, I remember the Pope like this

and this…

4.

What’s in a name? A great deal. By choosing the name John Paul II, he honored his three predecessors – and I really respected that. During his pontificate, he made 104 foreign trips. In total, he journeyed more than 1,167,000 km (725,000 mi).

5.

He traveled- everywhere. And he always took the time to kiss the ground wherever he landed. I thought he was honoring the country he was visiting but now that I’m a bit older I wonder if he was also giving thanks for a safe arrival!

6.

Then there was the assassination attempt.  

By that time I was working in a doctor’s office and I heard the news on the radio.

I remember the parishes around town praying for the life of our Pope.

Then two years later, John Paul II showed us what it means to truly be a Christian when he forgave his would-be assassin.

7.

John Paul II’s legacy shows us how to live a full life, as long as life lasts.

In some ways, I feel as if I grew into adulthood with Pope John Paul.  I left my childhood home, married Mr. Pete, and became a mom. Slowly but surely learned to reject the pablum that passed for Catholicism in my very liberal Catholic high school, and reverted back to my Catholic faith with enthusiasm and love.

I watched him age just as my elders did. He showed the world the dignity of the spirit and the beauty of aging.