John Paul Superstar

by Editor · Published October 15, 2003 · Updated October 6, 2017

As Pope John Paul celebrates his 25th pontifical anniversary he was elected on October 16, 1978 and installed on October 22 the Catholic world is paying tribute to a most extraordinary pontiff. The Church in Southern Africa too joyously pays homage to the Holy Father.

This week, we publish a special 16-page supplement dedicated to the 25 years of Pope John Paul II. More than 120 Catholic dioceses, parishes, congregations, schools, institutions, businesses and individuals have inserted special greetings to His Holiness, who will be presented with a copy of this edition. These salutes are an eloquent testimony to the love and respect John Paul commands across the Catholic spectrum. They have come from bishops and parishes, and from lepers in Swaziland and Mozambique; from people who have had the happy occasion of meeting the pope, and from children to whom this pope one day will be but a faint memory.

These greetings, and this issue dedicated to Pope John Paul, represent a deeply felt bouquet to the Holy Father from the southern tip of Africa a continent that is much in the pontiff’s thoughts.

No world leader speaks out as much about this continent as does Pope John Paul. In this, the pope does not limit himself to the distressing wars, but also reminds the world of its responsibility in addressing poverty on the continent. His words on Africa are not merely aphoristic: the pope knows and cares about Africa. Few leaders, for example, have cared to speak out about the problem of the desertification of land in Africa.

This is also a pope who has shaped world history for the better. His June 1979 visit to his native Poland served as a catalyst for the events that within a decade helped bring down the iron curtain.

Yet, for all his political influence, he has no use for temporal power. When the pope speaks out about politics, it is always within the context of the Gospel message: fighting for the poor, fighting for peace.

As Supreme Pontiff, he inherited a Church that was still finding its direction after Vatican II. Pope John Paul has given the Church a clear direction though not necessarily one that has found a consensus among all Catholics. Nevertheless, in doing so, he has defined the post-Vatican II Church in ways that will affect the Church long after he has gone or indeed we are.

While John Paul’s firm guidance of the Church in areas such as theology and doctrine has not been without disagreement, his pastoral leadership has received undivided acclaim. His abundant and warm interaction with the faithful has brought the papacy closer to the people of God and God to the people than ever before. To accomplish this, he has made full use of the modern means of travel and media.

When Time magazine, reporting on his 1979 visit to the United States, labelled the pope “John Paul Superstar”, it condensed the appeal of the most public of popes in one startling, modern phrase, one which previously one would not have applied to a pontiff. “Superstar” is a fitting description: few rock stars have the power to attract such masses of young people to a single event, and interact with them in so meaningful a manner, as has Pope John Paul.

The old, ailing pope, who has made a virtue of his age and illness, still has the power to stir and inspire young people in an age where youth and beauty are secondary only to wealth.

In many ways, this paradox is a fitting testimony to a great pontificate.