ROME — Pope John Paul II celebrates his 25th anniversary as Pope amid a series of celebratory events that themselves indicate several of the signature themes of his pontificate.
The celebrations also take place amid renewed concerns about the Holy Father's health. John Paul has become increasingly frail in recent weeks, unable to stand or walk.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria, said on Austrian state radio Oct. 2 that the Pope is dying.
“I don't know how near death he is,” Cardinal Schonborn said, but he is “approaching the last days and months of his life.”
The cardinal's remarks followed published comments of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger that the “ailing” Holy Father was in need of prayer. A papal aide later said the remarks, made to a German magazine, were taken out of context. Cardinal Schönborn's spokesman said his remarks should be taken “philosophically,” not literally.
Nevertheless, as the Register was going to press, the Vatican was still planning a full schedule of events, beginning with a papal visit Oct. 7 to the shrine of the Holy Rosary at Pompeii to cap the Year of the Rosary and set a Marian seal on John Paul's anniversary celebrations.
During the anniversary week itself, the entire College of Cardinals has been convoked by its dean, Cardinal Ratzinger, the Holy Father's most important collaborator and faithful lieutenant for 22 years as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The John Paul/Cardinal Ratzinger team — both of them leading professors before their service as bishops — has served as perhaps the most scholarly duo to lead the Church in modern times. Cardinal Ratzinger will lead the cardinals Oct. 15-18 in a symposium reflecting upon the principal themes of the Holy Father's pontificate.
On the election anniversary itself, Oct. 16, the Pope will sign an apostolic exhortation completing the work of the 2001 Synod for Bishops on the episcopal office — a kind of anniversary present to the world's bishops on how the job is done from one who has worn the miter for 45 years — more than half his life.
Later that evening the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square, roughly the same hour as his election 25 years previous. A pontificate known for great public theater will return to the site of so many of John Paul's historic moments — the assassination attempt of 1981, the first World Youth Day in 1985, the opening of the Holy Door in 1999 — to mark his appearance on the balcony as the first non-Italian Pope in 450 years. On World Mission Sunday, Oct. 19, John Paul will beatify Mother Teresa of Calcutta, arguably the greatest missionary of the 20th century.
Crowning Moment
It was last December when the beatification of Mother Teresa was announced, and it was expected it would be held in the spring. John Paul decided to delay it until October so it would be the crowning moment of his own papal jubilee.
Aside from being a close friend, Mother Teresa lived out so much of what is distinctive about John Paul's service as Bishop of Rome. A woman of deeply traditional faith and practice, Mother Teresa found a way to proclaim the Gospel and defend human life in a way that resonated with contemporary culture. Her presence on the world stage ensured that the poor, dispossessed and marginal could not be entirely forgotten.
A missionary in constant and respectful contact with other religions, she never compromised on the essentials of the Catholic faith. And like her friend the Pope, Mother Teresa's smile communicated her deep Christian joy as she traveled from one end of the world to the other.
John Paul will create 30 new cardinals Oct. 21 (he named 31, but one was named in pectore, or in secret) and will celebrate Mass with them in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 22, the anniversary of the first papal Mass that marked the solemn inauguration of the pontificate in 1978. It was at that Mass that John Paul preached his famous “be not afraid” homily, inviting the world to “open wide the doors to Christ.”
Twenty-five years later, the cardinals gathered around him will be a living witness to the reach of that exhortation, especially as many countries living under communism 25 years ago now have resident cardinals freely exercising their ministry.
Vatican sources told Catholic News Service that in spite of the concerns about the Pope's health, no serious consideration has been given to abbreviating the traditional ceremonies for the new cardinals.
The 135 cardinal-electors will no doubt have on their minds the next conclave. John Paul marks this anniversary with speculation that it might be his last milestone — speculation that, it should be noted, also marked his 15th and 20th anniversaries.
Father Raymond J. DeSouza, former Rome correspondent for the Register, is based in Kingston, Ontario.