Pastor's Corner, April 27, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and I am in Rome for the canonization of two great popes and saints - John XXIII and John Paul II.
Saint John XXIII was born near Bergamo in northern Italy and ordained a priest in 1904. In 1925 he entered the Vatican diplomatic corps and served in Bulgaria, Turkey and France. In 1953 he became the Cardinal Archbishop of Venice and was elected Pope in 1958. He is best known for calling the Second Vatican Council. Pope John XXIII set a tone for the Council when he said, “The Church has always opposed... errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”
Saint John Paul II was born in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920. He was ordained a priest in 1946 and a bishop in 1958. He attended all the sessions of Vatican II. Elected pope in October 1978, he was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. In his 27 years of papal ministry, John Paul II wrote 14 encyclicals and five books, canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people. He led the Church across the threshold of the third millennium of Christianity. “Christ is the center of the universe and of human history” was the opening line of his 1979 encyclical, Redeemer of Man. One of the most enduring images from his pontificate is the personal and private conversation he had with Mehmet Ali Agca, who had attempted to assassinate him two years earlier. 
Let us pray for many of our intentions through the intercession of these two great saints.
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker