April 2, 2017 marked the 12th anniversary of Pope Saint John Paul II’s death, and the Holy Father Francis paid homage to him today during this Wednesday’s audience, when greeting the Polish pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square.
The Pontiff recalled that John Paul II gave to the world two great Messages: that of the merciful Jesus and that of Fatima. The first was remembered during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy; the second, related to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over evil, of which the centenary of the apparitions of Fatima reminds us.”
“Let us accept these Messages so that they fill our hearts” and “let us open the doors to Christ,” he said, recalling the Polish Pope’s words just after being elected.
During the mass on October 22, 1978, at the beginning of his pontificate, John Paul II pronounced the famous phrase: “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ! Open to His saving power the confines of States, the economic and political systems, the immense fields of culture, of civilization and of development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows what is in man. Only He knows it!”
