Remembering St. John Paul II on his 20th anniversary
Meeting Pope John Paul II, 2004 Today we recall the 20th anniversary of the return home to God of Blessed John Paul II. When he came to Ireland in 1979, I viewed this historical event from the tranquility of my mother’s womb (I was born a few months after!). My father, who played the french horn in the Band of the Western Command was part of the military band for the occasion and played at the Papal Mass in Knock. So did my godfather Gerry Lacey (RIP) who wrote about this in an interview with the Westmeath Independent here. I felt I could say ‘I was there too’. Little did I know some years after I would meet JP II face to face and have the opportunity to speak to him and tell him about this little anecdote. Our God is truly a God of surprises! Never in a million years did I ever contemplate being in Rome for such memorable events: the death of John Paul II, a conclave, and the consequent election of Pope Benedict XVI. I had come to Rome three years previous and ...
