CNA Staff, Oct 22, 2020 / 05:00 am
A Polish city has unveiled a giant mural of St. John Paul II in honor of the birth centenary of the pope whose feast day is celebrated Thursday.
City authorities in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland, commissioned the portrait, which is 30 feet wide and 100 feet high, to mark the anniversary year, which is being commemorated by events in Rome and Poland.
The image, on the side of an apartment building on the city's John Paul II Avenue, depicts the pope who led the Church from 1978 to 2005 leaning on his crozier while praying. The mural was officially blessed Oct. 18 by Bishop Edward Frankowski, a retired auxiliary bishop of Sandomierz.
At the base of the portrait are words that the Polish pope spoke about the city: "I embrace with my heart Stalowa Wola, a city symbolic of the great faith of working people."