A framed collage of Pope John Paul II was the centerpiece among Easter lilies and a lit candle decorating the altar at St. Anne’s Church in Gorham last week. An organist played as parishioners arrived.
“We gather to celebrate the life of Pope John Paul II,” said the Rev. Lawrence J. Conley, pastor of Saint. Anne’s, who shared personal remembrances of the Pope.
The mass at St. Anne’s came on Tuesday, April 5, three days before the funeral at the Vatican for the 85-year-old pontiff, who was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, April 2, following an illness.
“He showed us how to live and how to die,” Conley said.
Conley eulogized the pontiff, who had been installed in 1978, as a great communicator. “He was the key figure in bringing down communism in Europe and bringing the message of peace,” Conley said.
Conley noted how the pope would put his hands on his head and be in conversation with God. He was 58 when the cardinals elected him pope – the first non-Italian pope in more than 450 years. He said the pope was already being referred to as John Paul the Great.
“He was the vicar of Christ on earth,” Conley said. “He ministered to people in so many ways.”
He said the pope was always able to empower his flock and was an example for everyone. He added that John Paul II was a great example of how to guide God’s people. “He preached the truth,” Conley said.
Conley said he met the pope twice in the United States and had an audience with him in the Vatican in 2000. There’s a photo of the occasion hanging on a wall at St. Anne’s. “I felt I was in the presence of a saint of God,” Conley said.
In his pilgrimage to Rome, Italy, Conley noticed then that the Pope had begun to fail. Conley carried greetings from the local bishops. When he mentioned Bishop Edward O’Leary, who died two years later, the pope brightened and repeated the name. “O’Leary,” the Pontiff said.
“What better time of year to die than the Easter season,” Conley said.
Louis Emery of Buxton attended the mass in Gorham. “I think the world will miss the man, not just the Catholic Church,” Emery said.
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