Visit http://www.popeday.net for current information about our 25th anniversary plans.
Click
here for program and contact information for Pope Days around the world
Click
here for the “Pope Day in New York” program
Click here to download a copy of the Pope
Day press release
Click here for a bulletin ad your parish can
publish to promote Pope Day in New York
Click here for
johnpaulpapacy.org, a new website about our Holy Father
Send
us an e-mail if you'd like to organize a "25th Anniversary"
Pope Day in October 2003
“We will not let this October 16th pass without honoring and celebrating the spirituality and many contributions of our beloved Holy Father.”
Teams of young Catholic volunteers will be handing out collections of Pope John Paul II’s writings on love and sexuality in Times Square, on Wall Street, in front of the White House in Washington and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and at many other locations throughout the world this October 16th — the 24th anniversary of the Pope’s election.
They will be doing so in response to the Pope’s call at Toronto’s World Youth Day to be the “salt of the earth.” Young Catholics in New York, Denver, and – at latest count – thirteen additional cities in five countries, have pledged themselves to be “salt of the city,” launching their efforts with a series of “Pope Days in…” this October 16th.
The essential elements of a “Pope Day” are a Votive Mass for the Pope, a sharing of the Holy Father’s teaching with the general public – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – and some combination of talks and video/theatrical presentations on the Holy Father’s life and thought – with additional reflection on the gift of the institution of the papacy.
John Paul II is the most widely published pope in history, and at this time of general confusion about sexuality, the family, art, the economy, the environment, world development, and peace, his insights – building on 2,000 years of Catholic thinking and spirituality – will be of surprising interest to everyone, Catholic or not.
On October 16th, Pope Day organizers will be distributing the 32-page magazine prepared by the Love & Responsibility Foundation, “John Paul II on Love & Responsibility.” They will also share with the public a second publication — currently in preparation — affectionately dubbed “The Pope on Everything.”
You can help financially support the preparation and distribution of these publications by making a tax-deductible on-line donation to the Love & Responsibility Foundation today.
The Votive Mass for the Pope in New York will be held at the Church of Our Saviour with Fr. George Rutler, pastor, preaching the homily on the gift of the papacy.
A former member of the Pope’s Swiss Guard, speaking on “The Holy Father Up Close and Personal,” is among New York’s featured post-Mass speakers.
Denver’s celebrations will be centered in that city’s Skyline Park along its busy 16th St. promenade. Pope Day in Philadelphia/South Jersey features a performance by the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary choir. The Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign will offer all its daily Masses for the Pope and will sponsor a campus-wide forum on the Holy Father’s teaching on human sexuality in the evening.
At present, twenty-one “Pope Day” celebrations are planned worldwide: New York, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, London (Ontario), Champaign/Urbana (IL), Worcester (MA), Couva (Trinidad), Minsk (Belarus), Quincy (MA), Saskatoon (Saskatchewan), Banska Stiavnica (Slovakia), Philadelphia/South Jersey, Washington, Ypsilanti, MI, Seattle, WA, Spokane, WA, Bellingham, WA, Los Angeles, CA, Cazenovia, NY, Fort Wayne, IN, and South Bend, IN.
For more information, or to add your city to the “Pope Day list,” send an e-mail to pope_day@catholicculture.com or call Peter McFadden in New York at (917) 846-3798.
Also, visit: http://www.popeday.net.