Vatican City, Apr 2, 2020 / 10:00 am
Pope St. John Paul II embraced suffering with love, even during his illness, a cardinal and the archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica said on the 15th anniversary of the saint's death.
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and the growing number of infected and dying people "has fallen on an unprepared society, highlighting the spiritual emptiness of many people," Cardinal Angelo Comastri told Vatican News April 1.
"Pain undoubtedly frightens everyone," he stated. "But when it is enlightened by faith it becomes a way to cut back selfishness, banalities and frivolities."
Pope St. John Paul II died at the Vatican on April 2, 2005, 15 years ago, after months of illness and a years-long battle with Parkinson's disease.