Apr 12, 2005 / 22:00 pm
As cardinals from around the world prepare for the April 18th conclave in which they will elect the next shepherd of the Catholic Church, many students at Benedictine College in Kansas are recalling the singular inspiration that Pope John Paul II was for many of them.
The campus, which postponed classes and meetings to hold a Mass for the pope on April 1st, just before his death, celebrated a memorial for John Paul yesterday evening at the campus’ St. Benedict Abbey Church.
A huge number of students turned out for the time of prayer.
Mark Bartek, director of one of the school’s residence halls, said that for many, Pope John Paul II “is the embodiment of Catholicism.”