Pope Recalls 10th Anniversary of St. John Paul II's Death

At Audience, Says the Late Pontiff Was Great Witness of Christ

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Addressing Polish pilgrims during the weekly General Audience this morning in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis recognized tomorrow’s anniversary of the death of Saint John Paul II.

Noting this is the 10th anniversary of his passing, Francis said, “We remember him as a great Witness of the suffering Christ, dead and risen.”

“We also ask him,” the Pope continued, “to intercede for us, for the families, for the Church, in order that the light of Resurrection shines on all the shadows of our life and fills us with joy and peace.”

“May Jesus Christ be praised,” he said.

St. John Paul II was canonized by Pope Francis on April 27th, 2014. The first non-Italian since the 15th century, he hailed from Poland and his pontificate lasted from 1978 to 2005, making it the second longest pontificate in the Church’s history.

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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