“The men who will be formed here are preparing to be priests of this millennium, the agents of the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth and the voice of the New Evangelization calling all people near and far to embrace the Lord Jesus,” said Cardinal Wuerl in his homily.
The seminary chapel was dedicated to Mary, Mother of the Church. John Paul II had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother during his lifetime.
“Just as Jesus on the cross entrusted John to his mother, so does the Church today continue to encourage all of us to entrust our lives, our vocation, our ministry, our service to Mary, mother of Jesus, mother of God, mother of the Church,” said Cardinal Wuerl.
The seminary houses two relics of Blessed John Paul II. The newly-restored chapel contains a first class relic, the blood of the Pope on the cassock he was wearing when he was shot during a May 13, 1981 assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square.
The seminary also contains an amice that Blessed John Paul II wore while celebrating Mass. An amice is a square cloth with that some priests wear over their clerical collar when they are vested for Mass.
The chapel’s altar and ambo were initially constructed and used for the papal Mass with Pope Benedict XVI on April 17, 2008 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The altar stone in the chapel was used by Archbishop John Carroll, the first bishop in the United States.