CNA Newsroom, Nov 16, 2022 / 08:30 am (CNA).
The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Madrid dedicated Nov. 13 a new chapel in honor of St. John Paul II, the pope who consecrated the church in 1993. The dean of the cathedral, Father Jorge Ávila, believes that thus “a debt” has been paid to the Polish pontiff.
The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Carlos Osoro, presided over the dedication ceremony. The cardinal was accompanied by the Polish ambassador to Spain, Anna Sroka, among other officials from the Slavic country.
To make room for the chapel dedicated to St. John Paul II, a space formerly used for confessions located next to the main sacristy was utilized. To maintain this penitential aspect, the new chapel also has a confessional.
Ávila noted that the previous space in honor of the saint was “very small” and was in “a corner” of the cathedral, as the archdiocese explained in a news release.
The entire theme of the chapel is “the primacy of Peter, the Church, and holiness,” as noted on the project’s website.
This is reflected primarily through the imposing three-ton black marble boulder placed at the entrance inscribed with the first words pronounced by the pontiff after his election: “Be not afraid. Open, even more, open wide the doors to Christ!”
On one side of the chapel, a reliquary with a vial of blood of St. John Paul II, which is kept in Madrid, has been placed, and photos of his travels can be seen.
Soon, with the help of a QR code, the faithful who come to the chapel will be able to hear the voice of St. John Paul II praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be in different languages.
Cardinal Osoro stressed that the new chapel will be a place to pray, confess, and “have the experience of a man who loved all men with all the consequences.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Reasons why St. (Pope) John Paul II should be officially named/proclaimed a “Doctor of the Church” – as of 2022 there are 37 officially proclaimed Doctors of the Church as well as the non-officially proclaimed “Doctors/Teachers of the Church”, the 12 Apostles and the 2 supreme Teachers – Jesus and Mary:
(1) On 13 May 1981 in an assassination attempt Saint John Paul II was wounded but forgave his would-be assassin and called him a brother thereby imitating Jesus’ act of forgiving His crucifiers; (2) On 25 March 1984, Saint John Paul II consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and in 1989 he met (Russia’s) Mikhail Gorbachev in Vatican heralding the end of deadly atheistic Marxism in Russia and elsewhere – in October 2004, months before his death in 2005, a Russian army choir feted Pope John Paul II in Vatican with Polish and Russian songs to honour his 26th anniversary as the Roman Pontiff; (3) Saint John Paul II mediated a serious border dispute (and a potential war) between Argentina and Chile which was successfully resolved with a Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile on 29 November 1984; (4) In 1985, Saint John Paul II initiated the World Youth Day; (5) In 1991, St. John Paul II introduced a more realistic, biblically-based “VIA CRUCIS” or the Stations of the Cross instead of the old “VIA CRUCIS” whose 5 of the 14 stations depict ”imagined” events of Jesus’ Passion without biblical foundation but ignore some other highly significant events such as Jesus’ forgiving the Good Thief, “Behold your Mother” and piercing of Jesus’ side – St. John Paul II thus made “VIA CRUCIS” more meaningful and pastorally relevant especially for Protestant Christians; (6) Saint John Paul II was instrumental in the publication of the monumental “Catechism of the Catholic Church” in 1992; (7) In 1992, St. John Paul II apologized for the 17th century Church mistreatment of the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei and in 1999 he expressed regret for the 1415 Council of Constance burning at the stake of the Czech priest Jan Hus; during his papacy, St. John Paul II also apologized for historical Christian participation in the denigration and injustices against women, for Church abuses against the Natives of the Americas as well as for Christian slave trade and slavery in Africa and the Americas, et cetera; (8) in 1994, Saint John Paul II initiated the World Meeting of Families; (9) in 2000, Saint John Paul II established the Feast of the Divine Mercy to promote devotion to Jesus’ Divine Mercy; (10) In 2002, Saint John Paul II corrected a glaring deficiency in the inventory of the Rosary mysteries by adding significant events/mysteries from Jesus’ public life (except Jesus’ Passion), the 5 “Luminous Mysteries” – their seamless integration into the traditional Rosary framework of “150 Psalms and 15 promises” could still be done; (11) In 2003, Saint John Paul II foresaw the destructive consequences of the American invasion of Iraq (destructive especially for Christians) and he campaigned against it – but no Nobel Peace Prize for the Pope; (12) throughout his pontificate, especially by his liturgical profession of the original Nicene Creed, by apology for the European Crusaders’ sacking of Constantinople in 1204 and by the Apostolic letter “The Light of the East” (sublime beauty and utility of traditional sacred images/icons, et cetera), St. John Paul II promoted Church unity thus endeavouring, in a “Pentecostal” / multilingual way, to realize Jesus’ wish “that they may be one”, one holy, catholic and apostolic Church “breathing with 2 lungs”, western and eastern – Jesus, Peter and other apostles, whose Gospel enlightened western Christianity, Europe and the whole world, originated in Asia, in the Near/Middle East!