20 Images that Prove St. John Paul II was the Coolest Saint Ever

October 22, 2014

Pope St. John Paul II was an extraordinary man. He traveled to more countries than any other pope. He helped bring communism to its knees. He was shot and lived to tell about it. He suffered a debilitating disease heroically. He inspired millions around the globe to pursue Jesus Christ and strive for holiness. And much, much more.

Yet, there is one more more achievement than can be added to his long list of incredible accomplishments: He was cool. How many saints do you know who wore converse and hipster glasses? Even Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati can’t claim that.

Of course hipster fashion is not a requirement for being a great saint or pope, but it doesn’t hurt either. Here’s 20 images that prove St. John Paul II was the coolest saint ever.

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Sam Guzman

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  1. Ed says

    Yes he was a man’s man; however, under his papacy occured the greatest mass exodus of Catholics since the Protestant Reformation. His understanding of the liturgy and its accidentals was deeply confused; he was a modernist who was insrumental in solidfying the destruction of the traditional Roman Rite. Thus the reason pope Benedict XVI th came out 6 years ago with the Motu Proprio telling us that the bishops had essentially lied to us for the last 40 years about the Tridentine Mass, that it was never abrogated and should be re-instuted when the laity ask for it.

    He was one of the architects of the liturgical post-Vatican II Revolution. There is a book on Catholic statistics written in 2003 and since 1965 there has been an 89% -99% drop in all vocations in all the religious orders. The only reason we need a “new evangelization” is because the Church lost its way via the path of progresive modernism for which St. Pius X wrote two encyclicals against and the modernists rejected. I do not deny that JP II is a saint, ” Who am I to judge”, but there was a lot of liturgical destruction and innovation under his watch.

    St. JP II pray for the reform of modernism in the Catholic church…

    • Allan says

      You are misunderstanding.. He didn’t want a Church that will move with the world. Catholics want a Church that will move the world.

      • Brother Raphael says

        The biggest problem i have with JP II is that he kept the lid on the priest scandal and Legionnaires of Christ.

        • Kristina says

          He didn’t keep a lid on the Legionaries. He got Benedict to investigate what was going on. Should he have done something sooner? Yes, no doubt but Fr. Maciel was an incredible con-artist and I daresay, he had the power of satan with him. If you ever have the unfortunate experience of coming across the path of a psychopath, you would understand how John Paul had been deceived. I cringe everytime I think of how he held up Fr. Maciel as “an efficacious model for the youth”. Glad that has all been exposed now so, they can hopefully, re-build.

    • David Byers says

      Yes, under his watch there may have been one of the greatest mass exoduses of catholics, but he had to deal with the sexual revolution which would have, in my humble opinion, caused even more to leave. Yes he stressed the new form of the mass and the Latin mass under his watch began to fade out post Vatican II but I do not think he is to blame. I’m sure it was not his intention. I do respect your point though and agree that modernism is a huge problem, but I do not blame JPII for this movement.
      God Bless

      • Praedicator says

        He came out of a Communist cultuure – one of the ways in which the communists function – to this day even in China – was to put priests into compromising sexual situations and photograph them – this is notorious. Given that it is hardly surprising if e was a bit slow to accept the firsr second or third rumour that came his way about a priest – and paedophiles are usually charmers who get away with worse than murder precisely because they are charming and no-one can believe it of them.

    • Alfonso says

      The Church needs the people who want to be in, following its doctrine. Now nobody is obliged to accept anything, but unless it is by their own consent. For me, what had happened it is a cleanse of the Institution, and from there it will keep on prevailing against the Hell’s doors.

    • Steve says

      We have no frame of reference. I for one am totally glad to no longer have a mass in Latin and that the alter faces us and invites each of us to be part of,not just observers of, the mass. And yes, I am old enough that I learned to serve mass when it was still in Latin, and the priest had his back turned to the congregation.. You can choose to blame the decline in attendance on these changes. However, there is no telling what that number would have been had there been no change. I love the Church and yes, she need to change. There has been constant changes and expansions in Catholic faith. If we want to truly be adherent to what the mass was, then we should all gather in small, male only groups over dinner in the upper room.

      • Christian says

        If the goal of change was to keep members it failed and is still failing. If the Church fails either way then there was no point of changing other than destroying a venerable and relatively ancient liturgy, and a product of natural development, to one drawn up in a boardroom of Church officials. Moreoever, it seems that the Orthodox are having no such problems, or at least less of them, despite the fact that their liturgies are longer, more convoluted, and also in almost all cases in languages very different to the vernacular. It seems the saying is true: Lex orandi, lex credendi; because ever since the changes one has seen more and more heterodoxy and confusion, and having the liturgy in the vernacular and simplified has done almost nothing, having the adverse effect actually, to help the laity understand what it is they believe.

        On all accounts the liturgical changes failed to what they intended, and in many cases had the exact opposite effect.

        • Kahne O'Banion says

          The church has changed and modernized since the first 1000 years. Priests should be able to get married and women should be priests. The church will not survive if it does not become practical and streamlined with a congregation that has advanced so fast with science and technology, which is of God’s creation. The Latin Mass is still available, but I do not like it. It is exclusionary and not inclusive. The church is failing because it does nothing to attract new parishioners. There is just rules and regulations that people just do not understand. The chatechism is just a book of rules written by men. The church needs to get back to the Bible and keep homilies simple. There is too much complication in this world and the one thing that brings salvation, should not be so. I still say the old Nicene creed. I think adding the complicated wording to it by Benedict, who is my least favorite Pope, is yet another complication.

          • Joe says

            You are the reason why women should never be allowed to be priests.

            If the Church competes with the world on the terms of the world it will lose to the world and is losing to the world and will continue to lose to the world. Clerical celibacy is in some ways an older practise than otherwise. Compare the Canons of the Council of Carthage to the Council of Trullo, which is a later council. The former says that priests may be married by that they must live as brother and sister.

            If you would like more scripture, here is more scripture:
            But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
            Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
            But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

            and

            For God is not the God of dissension, but of peace: as also I teach in all the churches of the saints.
            Let women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted them to speak, but to be subject, as also the law saith.
            But if they would learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church.

            You should become an Anglican or a Protestant instead of trying to destroy the Catholic Church. Paul was very right to say women should never attempt to usurp authority, because, as you demonstrate, women are more prone to weakness and the fashions of the times.

            Here is what John Paul II, who is the subject of this blog post, had to say:
            https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1994/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19940522_ordinatio-sacerdotalis.html
            “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”

  2. TheLeast says

    Well…if St. John Paul wasn’t prepared at least to tolerate the extirpation of the TLM, then one has to wonder why he didn’t say or do something about it whilst it was happening under his watch. The ancient bromide: Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi has never been proven truer than as it’s played out over the past 50 years in the Catholic Church in the west and elsewhere. The plunge in the rolls of the ordained clergy and consecrated religious, the deplorable preponderance of dissent and worse amongst those who remain under orders, the mass closings of Catholic parishes and schools…and really, one need look no farther than the White House…that America was able to elect – TWICE – the man whose policies are far and away THE most repugnant to the teachings of Holy Mother Church in this nation’s history is an inarguable testament to the outright apostasy of a majority of self-identifying Catholics. An America with 70 or so million FAITHFUL Catholics would never have allowed such a man to advance far in politics at all, let alone enter the Senate or the White House – there’s simply no serious argument for this position.

      • Ed says

        No, they did not start in 79;however, JPIi did nothing to stop the progressive destruction of the Sacredness of the Divine Liturgy. How about pagan idols placed on consecrated Catholic altars at Assisi???

    • bluewren says

      THELEAST: Well today with the Internet we have been made aware by Ann Coulter an Evangelical Christian that the Democratic party gave itself power to elect him twice.This by bringing in millions of Mexican immigrants ,who would vote Democrat in all elections.They also lied to the American people saying it was only 11 million when in fact it had been increasing over thirty years until it is well over 30 million or so. Despite voters making it clear that immigrants were destroying the economy by their heavy dependence on welfare and taking jobs from Americans who were then being promised at election time that would be changed .It wasn’t.
      Ann Coulter is a trained lawyer and a New York best selling writer of 12 books.She was able to access the facts through law sources she was familiar with.Sources which she has been denied now.They are classified information now.

  3. TheLeast says

    Well…if St. JP II was not prepared to, at minimum, tolerate the effort to cancel out the TLM, one can be forgiven for wondering why he didn’t do / say something about it while it was happening on his watch.

  4. Nathan says

    The “Traditional Latin Mass” was and is beautiful. However, there is nothing wrong with a Mass that better encourages and enables a “full and active participation” in the Mass IF DONE CORRECTLY. This focus on a full and active participation which brought about the changes to the TLM was not brought about by Saint John Paul II, but was brought about by the Second Vatican Council. Unfortunately, many people, including priests and bishops, took the changes to mean that they could do whatever they wanted to and started a slide into mediocrity and liberalism. Saint John Paul II was a very conservative man and pope and he also knew the importance of educating the people about their faith. Before the Second Vatican Council, most Catholics professed a faith that they obeyed but did not understand. Now, more people are truly diving into the richness of the faith. We should ensure that the current forms of the Mass are celebrated according to the General Instruction on the Roman Missal; too many parishes are ignoring this. You can’t blame the new form of the Mass for people not following how it should be celebrated, just as you can’t blame a speed limit for people crashing while speeding.
    I believe myself to be very conservative, but you can’t be more conservative than the Church itself; that’s what the Pharisees did. I had a priest say once, “You can fall off either side of the boat”. I tend to the right side of the boat, but there is evil in the waters on either side. The answer is Love. And, I don’t mean a wishy-washy, kumbaya type of love. I mean the kind of love that is self-sacrificing, holds people accountable because they want what’s best for them, and always rejoices in the truth… just like Jesus. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, but called them to repentance at the same time. This is the type of Love that we are called to. This is the type of Love that Saint John Paul II fostered and epitomized.
    Grace and Peace.

    • bluewren says

      Nathan. The thing about the traditional Mass and traditional sacred music the burning candles the SILENCE most beautiful art and statues of Mary and the Saints..yes and even not having to be aware of the priest except for his back clad in beautiful vestments .was.good . it focused us towards God and belief in miracles and the Divine.Not so in the guitar music the leather jacked and motorbike riding priests The ammature hour sharing .where people speak out their prayer petitions ect. Now that could be kept to prayer meetings I have no problem with that and the sharing of faith BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE MASS ALONE.

  5. Coco says

    I was enjoying these pictures, and then I read the comments. Sigh. Why are people still arguing about liturgies? Love God, and love your neighbor.

    • Jacob Flaherty says

      Well, the way we pray affects the way we believe which affects the way we live. They’re all interconnected.

      • Ed says

        It’s not a matter of hate, but rather objective truth. As a person I like JPEG II, but as for the sacred traditions of the church he is problematic.

    • Peg Pondering Again says

      Amen. One day, they will say,: Oh. It was us. We fell for the temptations outside of the church through the sexual revolution and not what was taking place inside the church. Hum. I guess we can’t blame __________________________(fill in the blank) anymore. I guess Mea culpa actually means something…

  6. Elaine says

    Thanks for posting this. Tonight I taught a RCIA class on St. JPII and used most of these and am always looking for more than illustrates what an incredible person and Pope he was. JPII, We LOVE YOU!!!!

  7. thepiousstatesman (@inchristorege) says

    Somebody please post the coolest pictures of JPII. You know, the ones where hr is kissing the holiest book ever, the Koran? Or the one where he is getting a blessing from a shaman. How about the one where he is in a fishnet shirt and wearing short shorts. Those make for some pretty hipster images.

    • Nostromo says

      It was a controversial gesture no doubt.
      In a weird sort of way the Koran points to Christianity as true, and Jesus as Lord who is mentioned in 93 verses, and demonstrates in the Koran something Mohamed never had, the possession of God-like powers. They also believe that Jesus will return on Judgement Day and that Mohammad simply died. This should be proof enough for any thinking Muslim that Mohamed was a false prophet and that the true corrupted book is in fact the Koran, not the Bible.

  8. Peppy Hare says

    These are good pictures. But why are there no pictures of him with his good friends, Maciel Maciel, Bernard Law, or Hans Groer? Better yet, a pic with an abuse victim would be even better.. oh,.. wait..

  9. Rob B. says

    I was born in 1974 and I came to the Faith rather late. John Paul II was the only pope I could remember and I cried when he died, which I had never expected. I think my favorite image of him is #2, where he is displaying his scapular.

    Pope Saint John Paul II, please pray for all of us. We need your help.

  10. Biff Spiff says

    Two thousand years since Christ and still the Pharisees abound. I will always love St. John Paul II for his love of Christ and Christ’s people. As for the rest of you, only learn what this means: “I desire mercy not sacrifice.”

  11. BG says

    I read so many do these comments and they make me sad to be Catholic…again. I’m so grateful for the Eucharist and salvation and I was such a lost sinner before the Church’s teachings (Jesus’ teachings preserved) saved me. It must be nice to have all the answers and be so perfect that you can judge so clearly. More people leave the Church because they look for hope and hear YOU and your anger and hate.

  12. DG says

    Karol Wojtyla . . . saint. not perfect . . . but holy . . . not all his actions were perfect . . .but oh how his witness over the course of his life, with its light and shadows, moved the world . . . it was an authentic life of faith, hope and love in Jesus Christ. I am immensely grateful for him as a philosopher, theologian, and Pope. He deserves the appellation, ‘The Great’! Praise be Jesus Christ.

  13. debbrunsberg says

    I will strive to obtain 1% of the holiness exhibited by St. John Paul the Great over the course of his lifetime. He was and is a favored son of God. It is so easy for those who don’t actually do anything to bring souls to God to criticize those who give all that they are, their very lives, to serve the Lord. May we all follow such an incredible example as JPII has been. Yea, he is cool.

  14. Jean says

    Awesome post, thanks for putting it up in time for his first Feast Day. Sure these comments are meant with a good heart. St. John Paul II, pray for this Church in need of healing and the courage to move forward with hope.

  15. Melville Collie says

    ST John Paul 11 was blessed with great Wisdom and Courage by the Holy Spirit. The only Paper work he did was to write amazing encyclicals most of which were never read by the clergy and were certainly not passed on to Church congregations. As soon as he got into office he could have spent years reading about all the stuff swept under the carpet by corrupt Bishops Cardinals and other Vatican staff who were there to enhance their own Ego’s and rise in the ranks of the church…..how long would it have taken for example, to study canon law and remove Homosexual clergy, get to the bottom of the cleverly hidden sex abuse scandals, covered over by the “ol’boys club of priests bishops etc NO LIKE MARTHA HE CHOSE THE BETTER PART……TO Live and Preach the Good news of Christ, show the world by his profound example How much we are loved by THE FATHER as revealed by The SON. With inexhaustible Courage, Determination, Prayer and Sacrifice he travelled the World and dived into the hearts of our young folk and invited them to give Christianity a good try….the young responded wholeheartedly…….
    and when he died they stayed up all day and night in processions moving at a snails pace for miles, to weep with tears of gratitude because JP 2 showed them with HIS life, The splendors of the Catholic truth and teachings of “WHAT A MIGHTY GOD HE SERVED, AND ASKED US TO DO THE SAME!! THAT WAS HIS LEGACY.
    If he had got bogged down with trying to fight the Satanic cunning of the small number of rotten apples in the Vatican he’d have nothing to show the world for his Papacy. I saw John Paul 2 in action in Toronto….I was with a small bunch of Musicians playing on Yonge street for his welcome visit to Canada where he changed the lives of millions of our youth…..an unforgettable peak
    experience of my life. Praise God who made it happen for me.

    Banjoman Mel Collie Toronto

    • bluewren says

      MELVILLE COLLIE: thank you for your excellent post. You have put together some of the things I could not express and have thought intuitively about .That those were surely some of the reasons he chose to get out and away from the Vatican and do what God had gifted him to do so well. Reaching the people personally with courage and pure faith.

  16. John says

    I don’t understand why people don’t get that modernism isn’t killed in a day. You blame St. John Paul for not exterminating the heresy, but one can only do so much.
    Were there better Popes? Maybe, but that is a matter of opinion. Should he have worn a collar in many of those pictures? Yes, he should have. But was he a weak Pope? No I think not. Besides, I wouldn’t complain, we are stuck with Pope Francis now. “Catholics need to stop obsessing about Homosexuality and Abortion” – Pope Francis.

    • Christian says

      One should stop obsessing over the murder of unborn children? I agree that there are many more problems than just this, which seems to be one of the only issues that is directly political, and so why it is in particular focused on. But what else does Francis want us to focus on? Certainly not the restoration of traditional praxis; certainly not the restoration of the study of the Church Fathers and the medieval theologians; certainly not indifferentism and lack of zeal; certainly not monasticism. It seems that the only things he wants us to care about are those things which the United Nations cares about, and this is just as myopic a view as those who care solely for abortion. The Church is Catholic, and unfortunately its issues are also Catholic, but seems that no one wants to address these issues in a Catholic way, but only in one kind of myopia or another. But I do believe that the myopia of those that are pained by the murder of unborn children is a better myopia than the one of those pained by items not properly recycled. But again, the issues the Church is facing are Universal, and must be treated Universally, and until we have a Pope who has a properly Universal view of our problems, they will not be solved.

  17. Mick says

    To the stone throwers here who parade themselves around like modern day Pharisees hoping to get a “crowd” to join them slinging insults at the Vicars of Christ:

    Remember the words of Jesus. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone”.

    Your words are stones. Please stop.

    • Ed says

      Unfortunately you do not understand the gravity of the destruction done to the Faith in the last 40 years. Think about the 90+% drop in vocations. It is not srtone throwing but rather we are hungry for relief from the progressives and modernists. Look at the Synod this past week.

      • bluewren says

        I think you are right and John Paul as a Polish Priest and the first one at that ,I think was up against it in dealing with those already well ensconced within the Vatican.

  18. John Fisher says

    I understand you want to have and like heroes. I lived through his pontificate and must say it was mixed. His actions such as the Assisi meetings broke the First Commandment as did his kissing the Koran. Some of his actions no doubt shaped by his Papal MC the older Marini the minion of Bugnini were just wrong. Unfortunately JP II cultivated a personality cult that has almost become obligatory, He was strong willed with all the strengths and weaknesses of that. His canonisation was rushed and I think rash. It would have been much better to give it 50 years.

  19. Bill Preston says

    I made the pilgrimage to see him in Iowa 79′ what a waste, he’s a commie plant, a total fraud (“redeemer of man”) that has deceived the Church into calling and making him a saint. Our Lady of Fatima please pray for us and Our Lord have mercy on us.

  20. Maria says

    These pictures just made me love this great saint even more! How refreshing to see pictures of a saint. And unlike many here, he was no sad-sack!

  21. Cuff of Coppee says

    Oh come on … not another ‘John Paul the Coolest’ blog entry. I’m surprised you didn’t post the picture of him kissing the koran or any of the other scandalous images copiously available. None of that’s cool. Settle down there…

    • Cuff of Coppee says

      So, kissing the Koran is normal and disagreeing with the kissing is ‘rad trad?’ Count me in! Radical to the bone.

      I deleted my bookmark to this site based upon this blog entry. It’s sort of silly to try to come across as a manly ‘gentlemen’ site then post an entry on “proving” someone is “cool” by posting pictures. I’m not amused especially since the man who is the subject of such a post is one of great controversy and scandal.

  22. Joan says

    Who is anyone here to utter slanderous and defamatory comments against a man and pope now elevated to the altars? Who here really has the superior insider knowledge that would be necessary to answer any of this vile speculation? Who here really is so pure and wise he can make these judgments against an undeniably great man, and with the surety to put them in print? Who here is going to Confession at the first opportunity, and saying an extra prayer to Saint Pope John Paul for prudence?

    • Chris says

      No one is saying he is not a saint; but it is frustrating that mostly under his watch the greatest exodus of Catholics occurred since the Protestant Reformation. Our Liturgy is in shambles. So yes he is a saint , but that doesn’t mean everytime he is mentioned it is all roses and we have to forget how the Church got where it is today.

      • Bluewren says

        Now the exodus began exactly when? Around the time the Latin Mass was done away with and the Nuns became feminists the convents began closing and the Nuns began wearing modern dress.(and worldly jewelry. and living in everyday housing, and holding down day jobs and working their” ministry “in the world from there.
        The priests began “saying Mass facing the congregation and wearing leather jackets and riding motorbikes and the Mass became at best a prayer meeting with the sacred music replaced by guitar players.
        I think the exodus was in full swing then. What Pope John Paul did was halt the exodus for a little while. Why was that because his religion was Traditional Polish ? His Faith was grounded in Traditional Catholicism and now he is gone what do we replace him with?
        Nothing much because the Vatican is crumbling from within or that’s what it looks like to me. Homosexuality ect. and the rest. The new Liberalism is taking over. In the secular world E.G. Single motherhood despite the statistics that show80% of criminals in /American prisons come from single mother homes ,Teen age runaways , murderers drug abusers Single mother homes. Yet the media and magazines and movies continue to glamourize single mother hood. Oh there is so much more. No do not blame Pope John Paul for a little while we had a breath of real Catholicism . Saint Pope John Paul the Great pray for us.

    • Steve Kirk says

      Joan, you just questioned people for making judgements and then made your own judgement by implying confession.

      It’s important to investigate and question everything during this confusing time in the Church. The Church does this extensively when judging valid miracles, canonization of Saints, or even scientific revelation.

  23. bluewren says

    Here’s a Thought maybe Pope John Paul had a lot more stonewalling within the Vatican than was ever apparent.Certainly not to outsiders.I am not familiar with the inside workings of the vatican.It just seemed to me he thought he could work more effectively doing something for the first time no other Pope had done,reach out personally to the people by travelling extensively.This certainly did work. because he had the charisma needed.
    His reaching out to leaders of other religions whom he believed loved God sincerely was maybe his way of hoping for the strength of the united people of God.
    Much needed in a Liberal Godless world today.
    I cannot believe that he a Polish traditional Catholic could have been instrumental in doing away with the Sacred within the Catholic Tradition. Viz the Latin Mass.for starters.
    But rather those faceless one’s within the Vatican already running things and knowing just how to manipulate to their own advantage,”while he was away from the office”.were most likely responsible. Just my humble opinion and I would like to hear Ratzingers opinion on that.
    In the meantime I will continue to believe in his Sainthood.Pope Francis is just not so impressive for me.Sorry.

  24. Christian says

    When in previous centuries would anyone have said: this saint is cool person? I do not just mean the word, but the sentiment. I think we should not be so cavalier in treating our Saints, but instead treat them with dignity and solemnity. I think modern people are very uncomfortable with treating things with solemnity. It seems to me the same tendency behind people joking and talking when they see a beautiful thing. The proper thing to do when seeing beauty is to be silent, but the tendency is to want to speak, because to be sincerely awed by a thing is uncomfortable. Often I am guilty of this too, and immediately after a mass ends, joining in with people making a jokes, because to extend that solemnity outside of the mass is uncomfortable, and I am the worst sinner. I think what made Catholic society so great in the past was that it was not afraid to extend the mass outside of the liturgy. I think Catholics should work again to do this, although it would seem strange to outsiders and atheists. A Saint like St. Francis is more like a living liturgy than a man, and this is why I think Saints should not be treated as though they were atheistic celebrities. I think Catholic Christianity makes extreme demands of us, but God knows I am also a failure in this. I think a great saint should rather be treated as we would treat the grand canyon, that is with reverence.

  25. Anna Maria says

    @ KAHNE O’BANION
    Patron Saint of World Youth Day and the World Meeting of Families

    St. John Paul II – pray for us!

  26. Anna Maria says

    …And some of John Paul’s II words … to consider….

    “”It is Jesus you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.
    It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.
    Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ!”

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