UPDATE: 29 September 2006
Pope John Paul II: Earthroaming for God
Winter/Spring 2006
POP
E
JOHN PAUL II: EARTHROAMING FOR GOD
I happened to be in Rome on business last April following the death of Pope John
Paul II. Millions of mourners had packed into Rome. My friend and colleague
Linda Pfaff and I had a couple of hours before our first meeting, so we jumped
into a cab and headed straight for the Vatican. “Il Vaticano, per favore,” I
said to the taxi driver – like I speak Italian – which I don’t – but I
have a theory that taxi drivers are less likely to take the long route when they
think you have a clue as to where you are and what you are doing.
It
was so strange to be back in Rome at such a historical moment – seeing the
crowds at St. Peter’s and observing the immense sense of loss felt by
Catholics and non-Catholics alike. I was a big fan of Pope John Paul II because
of his consistent message of peace and his efforts to heal old wounds caused by
the failure of our Christian forefathers during the Crusades, the Inquisition
and the Holocaust. I admired what seemed to me to be a true sense of world
citizenship that looked beyond national, racial and even religious boundaries to
see us as part of one community.
Little
Karol Józef Wojtya had all the makings of an earthroamer from his seemingly
normal childhood in Wadowice, Poland. He began studying foreign languages as a
little boy and eventually became fluent in Latin, Ukrainian, Greek, Spanish,
French, Italian, German and English. He could function in Russian – and of
course spoke Polish as his native language. Through a series of unforeseen
events that one might credit to divine intervention, he left Jagellonian
University and wound up in an underground seminary before beginning his career
in ministry after World War II ended. From there, his earthroaming fate was
sealed.
It
struck me as I watched CNN’s coverage of Pope John Paul II’s final hours
that more people have seen him in person than any other human being who has ever
lived. Isn’t that just an incredible thought? I tried to think who might come
close and came up with maybe the Rolling Stones or the Grateful Dead because
they have been on tour for so long. So, I decided to do a little research and I
learned that Pope John Paul II made over 104 trips overseas during his tenure as
Pope – visiting more than 100 countries (there are only 192 countries in the world).
He had many opportunities to address crowds of more than 1 million people –
and even addressed a crowd of 5 million people at the World Youth Day in Manila,
Phillipenes in 1995. Compare that to the largest rock concert in history,
Woodstock, which drew a crowd of 450,000.
So many of the earthroamers I admire went on to lead extraordinary lives despite very ordinary beginnings – becoming citizens of the world and leaving lasting footprints. That said, I’m not sure who might ever be able to match the footprints of Pope John Paul II. What a life.
[Sources:
Wikipedia;
About.com;
Reuters]
Kim Price, editor-in-chief