Mass to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Accession of Pope John Paul II to the See of Peter

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Thursday, 16th October, 2003 at 1.00pm

Introduction

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this day in 1978, after a pontificate of thirty days, Karol Wojtyla was elected to the See of Peter as Pope John Paul II.

For 25 years he has led the Catholic Church decisively and with a pastoral love, which has made the papacy, and indeed the faith, immediate to the people of the whole world.

Whether through his immense pastoral skill, his clear leadership of the Church, his depth of teaching, his courage in suffering, people have known him as a great Pope and today we thank God for his guiding example in a confusing, modern world.

As we call to mind our sins, let us ask the Lord that he will be with us in all that we do.

Homily

“Simon Peter, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” (John 21.15)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The evaluation of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ is always in terms of the intensity with which he loves and proclaims Our Lord.

Since his birth on 18th May, 1920, Pope John Paul II has demonstrated in an admirable degree that all his gifts were leading to the moment when he would be nominated to the See of Peter. We know the story of his work in the salt mines, his clandestine studies for the priesthood before he was ordained on 1st November, 1946, and completed his Doctorate in Theology in 1948 with a thesis on the topic of ‘Faith in the works of Saint John of the Cross’. Then chaplaincy to university students was followed by an appointment as Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics in the major seminary at Krakow. On 4th July, 1958, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow and on 13th January, 1964, he was appointed Archbishop of Krakow and a Cardinal on 26th June, 1967. During the Vatican Council he made an important contribution to the Constitution, Gaudiem et Spes, on the Church in the Modern World, and shared in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.

In the past 25 years he has had more than 100 pastoral visits outside of Italy and 145 within Italy. He has visited 301 of the 334 parishes in Rome. His ability as a teacher of the faith is demonstrated by 14 Encyclicals, 13 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 42 Apostolic Letters and 3 books. He has beatified over 1300 servants of God and canonised 469 saints. In eight Consistories he has created 201 Cardinals, has presided at 15 Synods of Bishops and has greeted nearly 17 million people in more than a thousand Wednesday general audiences.

In the year 2000 more than 8 million pilgrims came to Rome and he encountered many official visits as well. He will be remembered as one of the greatest Popes in history and one of the greatest figures of the modern era. He has contributed to Church teaching more than perhaps any previous Pope.

His teaching for us is given fundamentally in Novo Millennio Ineunte. Our lives have to be centred on Christ, nourished by a search for holiness and by a readiness to launch out into the deep to bring others to the knowledge of faith that we have as a free gift. He believed that holiness could be found in every life. That is why he canonised so many.

We may remember him as the smiling Polish Pope, who visited country after country, kneeling to kiss the native soil. No previous Pope has ever gone out to his people wherever they were in this way.

Well into his eighties, with his body crippled, the Pope continues to do the work of several men. His long prayer and suffering are a reminder to us of the power of the Cross and of the martyrdom to which the Lord invited Peter when he asked him, ‘Peter, do you love me more than these?’ We are humbly and wonderfully grateful for all that Pope John Paul has given to us.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.