Catholic faithful mourn pope
Grief-stricken locals pray for the pontiff at St. Paul Newman Center Catholic Church; the pope served for 26 years
By TASHA GALLEGOS
A crowd of Catholics gathered at St. Paul Newman Center Catholic church on Cedar and Barstow avenues to say prayers and mourn the death of Pope John Paul II.
Freshman Maria Carrillo served as a lector (reader) for Sunday evening services held at St. Paul Newmans Center in Fresno. Carrillo, an English major, started attending St. Paul’s last August after moving from Visalia. Photo by Joseph Hollak |
Led by the center’s parish priest, the Rev. Perry Kavookjian, the faithful spent about 30 minutes in a somber mood reciting the rosary, during an occasion organized spontaneously after news of the pope’s death was received.
Fresno State construction management major Jovita Torres said the pope’s death was sad and a relief at the same time.
“I think it’s sad to see such a great leader die, but at the same time it’s good to know that he’s stopped suffering and he is in a better place,” Torres said.
The pope died Saturday in his Vatican apartment. He was 84 years old and had served as pope for 26 years, making him one of the longest-serving pontiffs in history. He was also the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
Torres, who had an opportunity to attend Mass delivered by the pope in Rome during the 2004 new-year celebration said the she felt blessed in the pope’s presence.
“His presence was very touching. You feel blessed just to be in it,” she said.
Even those who have never had the opportunity to see him in person have been touched by him.
Karla Alcantara, a senior majoring in deaf education at Fresno State, said the pope had a big impact on her life, and also on her family.
“He’s someone to look up to because of his integrity. That’s hard to find in today’s society,” Alcantara said.
She said she was brought up in a Catholic faith and she sees him as an important figure both spiritually and politically.
“He was a very strong political figure,” she said. “You wish there were more political figures like him in the world. He was a good peace advocator and he was admirable.”
The pope has been credited with the fall of communism and also for building relations with Muslims. In May 2001, he became the first pope to step into a mosque.
Pope John Paul II was born Karol Joseph Wojtyla in 1920, in the town of Wadowice, Poland. He became the pope at age 58 and was one of the most traveled popes in history, and spoke more than 10 languages.
Ashley Thiesen, a mass communications student at Fresno State, said she practices a Protestant faith and feels that the pope did a great job of bringing the world together and creating peace.
“I feel that we’ve lost someone very special in the world and he will be greatly missed,” Thiesen said.
The pope was a strong social conservative who advocated the church’s ban on artificial birth control, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality and same-sex unions.
He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for years and had survived an assassination attempt in 1981.
As the 264th pope, he was the leader of an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
Pope John Paul II’s funeral date was expected to be set by the College of Cardinals this morning. The funeral will take place between Wednesday and Friday.
The next duty for the members of the College of Cardinals is to elect the next pope. Through tradition, the members lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel and release smoke when the ballots are counted. Black smoke indicates the votes are not decisive and white smoke announces the election of a new pope. The election process is supposed to begin within 20 days of the pope’s death.
According to Catholic tradition, the pope’s mourning rites will last nine days.
|
