The Congregation for Divine Worship has approved the celebration of
Blessed John Paul II's feast day in the dioceses of the United States,
after setting the feast day for Oct. 22.
The congregation was petitioned for the permission by the U.S. bishops' conference following their November 2011 meeting.
Bl. John Paul II's feast day is observed as an optional memorial in the
dioceses of the United States. His office includes the opening prayer
at Mass and the second reading in the Office of Readings, which is part
of the Liturgy of the Hours.
Additional texts for the Liturgy of the
Hours should be taken from the texts common to all pastors who are
celebrated liturgically.
Oct. 22 was chosen because it is the anniversary of his inauguration as Pope in 1978.
The opening prayer at Masses celebrated in his honor asks, “instructed
by his teaching, we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ,
the sole Redeemer of mankind.”
The reading in the Office of Readings is taken from his inaugural
homily as Pope, when he urged Christians to “be not afraid” and to “open
wide the doors for Christ.”
Bl. John Paul II was born Karol Wotjtya in1920 in Poland. He was
ordained a priest in 1946 for the Archdiocese of Krakow, and was
consecrated as an auxiliary bishop for the same archdiocese in 1958. He
was elected Pope on Oct. 16, 1978 and served in that capacity for almost
27 years.
“His exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young
people and the sick, led him to numerous pastoral visits throughout the
world,” reads the new biography for Bl. John Paul II in the Liturgy of
the Hours.
“Among the many fruits which he has left as a heritage to the Church
are above all his rich Magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church as well as the Code of Canon Law for the Latin
Church and for the Eastern Churches,” it adds.
Bl. John Paul II died April 2, 2005. He was beatified only six years
later, after the Vatican recognized his intercession in the healing of a
French nun who suffered from Parkinson's disease.
Beatification permits the veneration of a person by particular groups
or by locale, and so the Vatican had to allow Bl. John Paul II's feast
day to be observed permanently in the United States.