it is kinda sad when i was born, i think the Pope was only in his second year of reign. it was a lengthy service - 26 years. i was reading this article over at cnn saying that only two other popes served longer than he did, saint peter and pius ix.

i feel sad mainly because i grew up with him. i remember studying about his life in my religion classes as early as the first grade. he was a hiker, a soccer player, a very sportsy guy in his younger days. well, his young days were pretty much cut off when he lost his mom when he was nine and his brother when he was twelve. who would have thunk he would turn to holy orders when he was 26.

he canonized lots of saints. i'm guessing it's in the hundreds. he canonized two canossian sisters: founder saint magdalene of canossa and african slave saint josephine bakhita. he canonized philippines' first saint in'87. the same with padre pio. all three in my lifetime. and by golly, did he travel! and he was shot early in his papacy. he fought against communism. he was a very conservative pope. he loved the virgin mary. he loved the youth. he spoke eight languages. he was a remarkable man.

i wonder how things are gonna work out. this is so dan brown. if you've read both angels and demons and the da vinci code, you'd know what i'm talking about. also reminded me of that movie eurotrip.


eternal rest, grant on to him, oh Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him. amen.
picture from CNN.com  ¶ 3:36 PM