THE P RTAL
May 2014
T
he canonisation
of St John Paul brought its
own special message for the Ordinariate. His visit to Britain
in 1982 with that dramatic gathering at Canterbury Cathedral was
a pivotal moment in the history of Christianity in Britain, and a
central part of the back-story to
the creation of the Ordinariate by
his successor Benedict XVI.
The ecumenical hopes of 1982
gave way in turn to the C of E
Synod vote of 1992 which closed
a door firmly…and this in turn set
in motion the events which led to
the formation of the Ordinariate,
and the adventure and work-inprogress with which we are all
involved.
John Paul broke through so many
barriers. The election of a Polish
Pope was perhaps the single most
powerful event which sparked
the collapse of Communism
(although, in the great reality of
things, the prayers and sufferings of so many martyrs,
known and unknown, over some six decades, taken
together, surely played the greatest role).
Auntie Jo a n
Canonisation
of St John Paul
Page 4
na
wri tes
not fail to excite interest: having
lost all his immediate family by
the time he left his teens, he also
lost his country and his plans for
the future with the Nazi invasion
of Poland and the closure of the
country’s universities.
Studying
theology
while
working in a stone quarry,
joining a secret seminary, and
finally being ordained after the
war ended and a new totalitarian
government had taken over
his country…this is the stuff of
which adventure is made, and Britain’s wartime links
with Poland (and sense of guilt at the terms of the Yalta
agreement?) added zest to the mix.
He made great strides in ecumenism, reaching out
across denominations and appealing in fresh ways to
generations anxious to overcome past divisions. He
spoke with frankness and depth about human sexuality,
presenting a new approach with what came to be
known as the “theology of the body”. His missionary
journeys, celebrating Mass with vast crowds – at
one point, in the Philippines, the numbers at Mass
were estimated at five million – presented a vision
of the Petrine ministry that was at once compelling,
authentic, and revolutionary.
The canonisation of this great man, and his close
working bond with the man who was to become his
successor as our beloved Benedict XVI and gave us the
Ordinariate, places Saint John Paul in a special way in
our hearts. Canonisation seals him into the life of the
Church for ever - “what is bound on earth is bound
in Heaven” – and into history. For those of us who
had the privilege of meeting him, photographs and
treasured mementoes now have a richer significance.
As we grow older, so the memory of this great man
will slip from vivid anecdote to formal recollection,
and thence into a sort of folklore. There will be family
His visit to Britain came just exactly at a time when stories and cherished, slightly muddled, anecdotes.
British people were ready for it. The old image of the And all of this will be mixed in with the booklets and
Papacy (Lewes Bonfire traditions and all that) was statues and holy cards that are part of the everyday
fading, with travel, tourism, and TV all playing their texture of Catholicism.
role in that. Various events drew together Christians
from different denominations on a fairly regular basis,
For a moment, though, and with the canonisation
from carol services and Remembrance Day events fresh in our minds, let’s just pause and take stock and
to mutual visits for installations of clergy or similar. say a quiet thank-you to St John Paul.
The Polish Pope was a man whose life-story could
Joanna Bogle DSG
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