This Thursday, October 22nd, the Church will celebrate the feast of Saint John Paul. Having been canonized one year ago by Pope Francis now John Pauls name has been added to the Universal Calendar of the Church. This feast is unusual because the date chosen for the feast is the date in 1978 when Karol Wotylla, who was then the Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow, was elected Bishop of Rome and successor to Saint Peter. This extraordinary event ushered in an incredible papacy filled with many blessings for the Catholic Church and the World at large. John Paul had lived through most of the tragic history of the 20th century. Born in Poland in 1920, he saw the rise of Hitler and Nazism. Poland suffered greatly under the German occupation and after the War suffered again under the Soviets. He was a man of great strength, courage, and vision. He brought all of these gifts to the papacy and helped to free the people of Eastern Europe from the iron grip of the Soviet Union. In leading the Church into the Third Millennium he told Christians to proclaim Christ boldly with courage and conviction. Be Not Afraid was his motto and He trusted in the Lords promise to remain with the Church until the end of time.