Catholic students and community members honor the holy father.
By: Melissa Hayes
Funeral bells were ringing at St. Augustine of Canterbury R.C. Church on Wednesday in memory of Pope John Paul II as parish school students and community members entered the church solemnly for a Mass in honor of the holy father.
Candles decorated the altar, which was flanked by a large picture of the pope and the blessing he had given to the church upon completion of a ceiling mural of Christ the Teacher.
Black shrouds were draped on the exterior and interior of the church and black banners hung to the sides of the altar. Banners with images of a youthful Pope John Paul II were at the church’s entrances.
Pope John Paul II died Saturday, and his passing will be marked by a week of mourning as well as a 10:15 a.m. service led by the church’s youth today (Thursday). The school also will be closed Friday in observance of the pope’s funeral in Rome, which will take place at 4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Seventh-grader Chelsea Sheehy and fifth-grader Ashley Machalany carried in the papal candle, placed next to the altar.
"It is lit because the gospel says we are the light of the world and Pope John Paul II was our light of the world," the Rev. Bob Lynam said. "He was loved and respected by all people."
During the service, students shared their thoughts on Pope John Paul II and Father Lynam recalled a 2003 visit to Rome with parish school Principal Sister Mary Louise Shulas.
Sixth-grader Mariela Acharon opened the service with a few words about the pope.
"He touched countless millions by reaching out to the world with the love of Jesus. Everywhere he went the masses of people were attracted to his charismatic personality, seeing the embodiment of Christ in him," she said.
Ashley spoke about how she wished that she had met the pope as some of her relatives have.
"During the past week, everyone has been saying, ‘Pope John Paul II was a great man,’" she said. "Pope John Paul II was a great leader. I always saw him on TV and wished that one day I would see him in person like my mom and my grandparents."
Ashley said the pope taught her many valuable lessons.
"Pope John Paul II has shown me that it is possible to live the way Jesus expects us to live. He was a role model to everyone. He proved that you can love and forgive your enemies. I think he was a true representative of God on earth," she said.
Chelsea began her remembrance with a quote by author Anthony F. Chiffolo, "Life is one of the most beautiful titles, which the Bible attributes to God."
"Throughout (the pope’s) life, he lived out the message of God by helping people everywhere, no matter who they were," she said. "We should all continue his journey by respecting life and living God’s word just like he has shown us."
Father Lynam said that during his 2003 visit, the group brought with them a zucchetto a small white skullcap for the pope to wear during the Mass. At the end of the Mass, he removed the zucchetto and offered it to Sister Shulas as she was leaving the chapel.
Sister Shulas said she became so overwhelmed by the gesture that she collapsed at the pope’s feet.
"Before I knew what was happening it was in my hands and I was just so overwhelmed," Sister Shulas said after Wednesday’s service. "I grabbed his legs."
Sister Shulas said being with Pope John Paul II in the chapel was very spiritual and uplifting.
"I kept thinking ‘what do you say to him?’ His holiness just radiates," Sister Shulas said. "I wanted to run out of there, I was so excited. I felt like the ladies at the tomb (of Christ)."
Other community members also have been touched by the pope’s teachings.
Kiki Pierdinock and her husband Mike are parishioners at St. Cecilia’s R.C. Church in Monmouth Junction.
Ms. Pierdinock said she has been in and out of the church this week and has seen community members praying for the pope.
She and her husband said previous popes weren’t as visual and well traveled as Pope John Paul II.
"I think he just loved people and he showed it and he traveled all over the world. When I was growing up you didn’t hear of the pope," Ms. Pierdinock said.
Her husband added, "They didn’t even leave their country."
Ms. Pierdinock said she likes what the pope did for his native country of Poland.
"I just like what he did in Poland and I like what he did with all the Ukrainian people and the communism that they lived under and I think that was something that was one of his greatest accomplishments," she said.
"I think he was a very religious man. I think he was a very conservative pope. I’m just anxious to see the vote," she said. "I think the American cardinals will be much more liberal than the Europeans and the rest of the world."
Susan Santowasso’s family also attends Mass at St. Cecilia’s. Ms. Santowasso, a teacher at Crossroads Middle School, had the chance to see the pope with her daughter Diana.
"When the pope came to Giants Stadium in 1995, my daughter and I were able to go and see him and it was pouring rain that day and I remember just thinking to myself, ‘now he’s only a man. He’s a human being and there’s nothing more than that,’" she said. "When he entered Giants Stadium, there was an aura about him. I try to explain it to my students. It’s like going to the Vietnam Memorial or Pearl Harbor. There’s an aura. You feel like you’re on sacred ground."
Ms. Santowasso said she was not raised Catholic, which is why she thought of the pope as a regular person.
"I was thinking he was just a man, but he wasn’t just a man. It really was a moving experience and I was so appreciative that I got to go," she said. "I will never forget that experience of just being in the same place as him."
Diana had the opportunity to travel to Rome in 1997, her senior year of high school, and has a rosary that was blessed by the pope.
St. Augustine parishioner Sue Carlowicz also saw the pope at Giants Stadium in 1995 and still has her ticket, which is framed on her wall.
"I never met him privately, but I was lucky enough to be one of the drenched thousands who saw him at Giants Stadium in October of 1995. On this emotional day, I was filled with both the anticipation and excitement I felt both as an American-born Catholic and especially proud of my 100 percent Polish ancestry," Ms. Carlowicz said. "
"I’ll never forget the very moment I finally saw him. I was one of thousands, but felt as if I were the only one there. I cried tears of joy as he touched my heart and soul as I stood in the rain, desperately trying to keep my camera dry, hoping to capture some memories of that great day," she said.
Ms. Carlowicz refers to Pope John Paul II, whose pontification lasted 26 years, as the pope of her time.
"I consider Pope John Paul II to be the greatest spiritual world leader of our time. He hastened the fall of communism through peaceful means, embracing the Solidarity movement in his homeland of Poland," she said.
Ms. Carlowicz said she followed the pope, watching him on television, with the hope that she would one day meet him.
She said one memory about the pope’s Giants Stadium visit stands out.
"I can still hear the roaring crowd chanting "John Paul two, we love you."
Fittingly, Father Lynam had the schoolchildren at Mass Wednesday chant the very same thing. He then asked the group to raise their hands if they thought Pope John Paul II would one day become a saint.
Almost every hand in the packed church went up.
"He was the pope that the youth of all the world considered cool," Ms. Carlowicz said. "He was truly ‘Ojcze Naswz,’" Polish for "Our Father" she said.

