CNA Staff, Apr 2, 2021 / 03:00 am
People around the world continue to draw strength from the way that St. John Paul II faced his final days, his former personal secretary said on the 16th anniversary of the Polish pope’s death.
Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz noted that this year’s anniversary fell on Good Friday amid a pandemic that has claimed more than 2,800,000 lives worldwide.
The 81-year-old Polish cardinal said that the last weeks of John Paul II’s 27-year pontificate offered a message of interpersonal solidarity.
“The lesson that John Paul II gave to the world when he was leaving for the Father’s house can be a source of consolation and solace for those who are desperate after the death of their loved ones, as well as for those who fear for their health and safety,” the retired Kraków archbishop told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).