Commemorating anniversaries is more than being nostalgic about the past. Most of these events are significant flashes that highlight the best in the lives of people who have left their mark in history.
Of the vital and important anniversaries we celebrate this year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karol Józef Wojtyła, popularly known as Pope John Paul II, and recently, referred to as Saint John Paul the Great. Born in the Polish town of Wadowice on May 18, 1920, he earned this title not just because he was a religious personality, but also by cultivating significantly the Catholic Church’s relations with the Orthodox Church, the Anglican and the Lutheran Communions, as well as with Islam and Judaism.
His aspiration to create a religious alliance among all Christian denominations can be clearly seen in his encyclical Ut unum sint, inspired by the very prayer of Jesus for unity, “That all may be one” (John 17:21). In this encyclical, Pope John Paul affirmed that the ecumenical commitment made at the Second Vatican Council was irreversible. This was put to light by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI when he wrote a long and a dense letter last May 4, 2020 on the occasion of St. John Paul II’s birth centenary: “… from the first moment on, John Paul II aroused new enthusiasm for Christ and his Church.
His words from the sermon at the inauguration of his pontificate: “Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors for Christ!” This call and tone would characterize his entire pontificate and made him a liberating restorer of the Church. This was conditioned by the fact that the new pope came from a country where the Council’s reception had been positive: one of a joyful renewal of everything rather than an attitude of doubt and uncertainty in all.” The energy with which he lived the very words of Jesus to “go and preach the Good News to the ends of the earth” made him the most travelled pope in history, with 129 countries visited during his pontificate.
Dense volumes would be needed to enumerate and describe all his endeavors from the encyclical letters he wrote, the innumerable initiatives made to unify Christians, build bridges among faithful of other religions, foster harmonious relationships among people of various convictions and indigenous people, reaching the farthest corners of the world to serve and be in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized, one can fully say that he is a man of dialogue, a personification of the Church’s embracing the world both in its diversity and in its struggles. All these he lived in the silence of his heart bringing them to Our Lady with whom he had a special and unbreakable bond.
Born on January 22 in the same year as Saint John Paul II, Chiara Lubich was a close friend and collaborator of the late Pope in promoting Christian unity and world peace. She lived a life following God unreservedly and worked tirelessly to foster universal fraternity at all levels of society.
Her lifetime work for unity, for the realization of Jesus’ prayer “that all may be one…” (John 17:21) is being continued through the Focolare Movement’s five dialogues, an echo of the Church’s opening herself to all people of goodwill and responding to the call of modern times which started in Vatican II. All in all, it represents a 365-degree dialogue with all Catholics, with other Christian churches, and with other religions, as well as with men and women of other convictions, and with the contemporary world.
Chiara Lubich’s untiring dedication to promote universal brotherhood on all fronts of human activity earned her international recognition in numerous honorary doctorates, civic awards, among which are the 1977 Tempelton Prize for Progress in Religion and the 1996 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. But all these honors Chiara considered as recognition of the work that God has done, God who alone can do great things.
These dialogues of life, promoted by St. John Paul II and Chiara Lubich, are the pathways towards healing and strengthening relationships among all the various peoples of the world to build a more humane world, rooted in justice, peace and solidarity so that humanity can be that one family it is called to be.
