Thirtysomething

Pontiff

I've been watching a lot of Pope coverage. Because I was only 3 years old when Pope John Paul II was elected, I didn't know a lot about the man's life. Like that his name is Karol, which I find endlessly endearing. There was so much I didn't know, so much suffering that one man faced. Most of his family members died when he was quite young and Karol served in slave labor during WWII. When most Polish men were arrested after the Warsaw uprising, Karol was spared because he was praying in an underground room. His name, however, was blacklisted and he would have been killed if discovered before the end of the war. He abandoned his love of theatre and entered a secret seminary. The rest is history.

I've seen the pictures of Pope John Paul from his early days as Pope. I was too young to really remember. How handsome and strong he seemed then. The stories I've heard about him are charming. He seemed to have a sense of humor. His plane was called "Shepard One"; the media plane that usually followed his was called "Wolf One". The Pope-mobile makes me chuckle.

The conclave starts in 11 days. I wonder what the new pope will be like. I wonder if Karol's past suffering made him such a compassionate person. I wonder if the new pope will have that compassion and more. I wonder if he will have suffered.

Pope John Paul will be buried tomorrow. I still sometimes get teary watching the media coverage of his life. He didn't fullfill all of the wishes of the American Church, but he was, unquestionably, a good man. A very good little old man.

posted by DJ Heavy D @ 8:31 AM