I was visiting someone in the nursing home this morning and as I entered her room, I noticed a holy card with the image of John Paul II in chasuble, mitre and crozier, with hand outstretched in blessing. The woman said to me she situated the card to be visible to all who entered her room so everyone would be blessed by the late Pope.
John Paul II endures in the hearts of the people.
I was taken back over 32 years in my thoughts. There was an elderly woman who lived in the Trastevere section of Rome by the name of Giovanna. Giovanna actually looked a lot like the woman I visited today. As you entered Giovanna’s apartment, one of the first things you saw was a small shrine with the image of Pope John XXIII, hand outstretched in blessing. The beloved “Papa Giovanni” was held in high esteem by the poor of Rome in the 1970s, just as John Paul II is held in esteem of many today some five plus years after his death.
Bless us and intercede for us John Paul II!
