WASHINGTON — The Congregation for Divine Worship has approved the celebration of Blessed John Paul II’s feast day in the dioceses of the United States, after setting the feast day for Oct. 22.
The congregation was petitioned for permission by the U.S. bishops’ conference following their November 2011 meeting.
Blessed John Paul II’s feast day is observed as an optional memorial in the dioceses of the United States. His office includes the opening prayer at Mass and the second reading in the Office of Readings, which is part of the Liturgy of the Hours. Additional texts for the Liturgy of the Hours should be taken from the texts common to all pastors who are celebrated liturgically.
Oct. 22 was chosen because it is the anniversary of his inauguration as Pope in 1978.
The opening prayer at Masses celebrated in his honor asks, “Instructed by his teaching, may we open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ, the sole Redeemer of mankind.”
The reading in the Office of Readings is taken from his inaugural homily as Pope, when he urged Christians to “be not afraid” and to “open wide the doors for Christ.”
Blessed John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla in 1920 in Poland. He was ordained a priest in 1946 for the Archdiocese of Krakow and was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop for the same archdiocese in 1958. He was elected Pope on Oct. 16, 1978, and served in that capacity for almost 27 years.
“His exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people and the sick, led him to numerous pastoral visits throughout the world,” reads the new biography for Blessed John Paul II in the Liturgy of the Hours.
“Among the many fruits which he has left as a heritage to the Church are above all his rich magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church and for the Eastern Churches,” it adds.
Blessed John Paul II died April 2, 2005. He was beatified only six years later, after the Vatican recognized his intercession in the healing of a French nun who suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
Beatification permits the veneration of a person by particular groups or by locale, and, consequently, the Vatican has authorized John Paul II’s feast day to be observed permanently in the United States.
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I take it that once he is canonized, this will be his feast day…once he gets that miracle done that is and that could take many decades and maybe beyond all of our lifetimes.
As it should be.
Praise be God for Blessed John Paul II’s new feastday. He helped Cathlocism in every way he could to help us all get to Heaven. He was a remarkable human being. I won’t forget his feastday; it is the day my Mom died in 1985.
I definitely know THAT POPE JII HAS BEEN A BREATH OF FRESH AIR TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH——HE SUFFERED GREATLY IN POLAND UNDER NAZI DOMINATION——BY HAVING TO BE CLANDESTANT IN PRIESTLY EDUCATION AND BEING DEPRIVED OF MANY OTHER THINGS DURING WWII——TO BE REALLY GREAT——SUFFERING IS A NECESSITY——WE WERE GRACED WITH HIS UNQUINCHABLE DESIRE TO HELP RID POLAND OF COMMUNISM——IN COOPERATION WITH LEICH WALENZA AND PRES. REAGAN——I SAW HIM IN CHICAGO ALONG WITH ANOTHER MILLION AND HALF——AND I WAS VERY IMPRESSED THAT HE SAID IT WAS BEST TO RECIEVE THE HOST ON THE TONGUE, THAT ONLY THE HANDS OF A PRIEST SHOULD HANDLE JESUS IN THE HOST——HE HELPED GREATLY TO DEFINE OUR RELIGIOUS PRACTICES——HE MADE A FORMAL APOLOGY TO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLES HURT THRU THE AGES BY CARELESS AND IMPROPER ACTIONS OF THE CHURCH——THE MAN WAS SO MAGNANIMOUS AS TO VISIT MANY FAR-FLUNG NATIONS WITH A MAGNITUDE OF MILLIONS FOLLOWING HIS ENTOURAGE ENDING UP WITH PASSIONATE TALKS AND HOLY PONTIFICAL MASS——HE DID THIS 104 TIMES OR MORE WHICH MEANS HE WAS FLYING SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD——EVERY 4 MONTHS——A VERY TRULY EXHAUSTING SCHEDULE FOR A ‘CATHOLIC’TOUR OF MANY MANY OF JESUS’ FOLLOWERS——AND HE WAS SHOT ON THE EXACT DAY THAT MARY VISITED THE 3 FATIMA CHILDREN——HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED—BUT PROTECTED BY THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY——EVEN HIS CODE OF ARMS DISPLAYED AN EXTENDED CROSS SHOULDERING WITH AN ‘M’FOR HIS BELOVED MARY——HIS MANY THOROGHLY BRILLIANT ENCYCLICALS AND LOVING MANNERISMS——CAUSES THE WORLD TO RESPECT AND/OR LOVE INTENSELY THIS PLAIN SPOKEN POPE OF THE HOLY TRINITY——THIS IS ONLY A SMALL SMATTERING OF HIS VERY HOLY SAINTHOOD——YOU COULD NOT HELP BUT LOVE THIS MAN——AND MANY MILLIONS ATTENDED HIS FUNERAL AS PROOF OF THIS ENDEARING, WORLD-WIDE LOVE…........
Blessed John Paul II please heal our nation!
I cannot but express great sorrow that this troubled Pope, who did so little to restore order in the Catholic Church and in fact brought upon it shame and scandal by virtue of his increasingly syncretist leanings and initiatives, should be feted like this.
Like the scandalous farce that is Medjugorje, which will cause great pain when it is finally realized that it has been a ridiculous hoax from day one, the cold water of reality is one day going to hit Catholics squarely in the face who now venerate this man and hold him up as some kind of “great” Pope.
The Church has in its twenty-century history lived through great Popes, fair Popes, mediocre Popes and outright villainous Popes. It will live though John Paul II too, but I shudder to think how many delusions, mostly self-induced, will ultimately be shattered when the truth as it always must begins to be perceived.
The above post by Mary will sadden many. Her words hurt. There are countless numbers of JPII new priests who were inspired by the good example and I might say heroic example of this fine priest, bishop and pope. May he rest in peace.
David, I think your reply to “Mary” was meant to be directed to “Dan”. Mary’s post was a very short one and since it appears immediately before Dan’s you probably read them as one.
I wonder why they didn’t select April 2nd as his feastday?
Dan,
You are wrong. You evidently have never read and studied his writings. Read his Theology of the Body before you criticize him to learn where he stood on the matters I think you are refering to. He was a suffering servant with great wisdom for our times. He had his faults, but probably not the ones you think, and most likely you and I have more than he did.
When I read his TOB, I was healed of many abuses I suffered. That was God through John Paul ll. Pray for me and my family, Bl. John Paul ll! BTW, his feast day is my birthday, what a gift!!
Bl. Pope John Paul remains an inspiration to many, Catholics and non-Catholics. He was a true teacher through out his ministry and his final illness. Thanks to Poland for sharing your greatest gift of humanity with the world!
Blessed John-Paul II???? Give me a break what’s next canonizing Pius XII. The only modern day Pope who should be on the fact track to being declared a saint is John XXIII. It will be a cold day in hades before I buy into this farce
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