Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

 

The Catholic community and people all over the world were saddened on Saturday when Pope John Paul II died at age 84. During his 26 years of leading the Catholic Church, the pope traveled all over the world and made several stops in the United States including a visit in 1987. He visited many churches and spoke at various gatherings, but had not planned to stop at a hospital until the Catholic Health Association invited him to visit St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

John. J. Buckley, Jr., who was a member of the CHA board of directors and CEO of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix at that time, hosted the pope on his visit. He spent the majority of his time with patients in the pediatrics ward, holding a 2 1/2-month-old premature baby, blessing a fifteen-year-old cancer patient and comforting a young girl who was paralyzed from the neck down. He ended the visit with a short speech to hospital employees.

"Even as we mourn his passing, we commit ourselves to the ideals he so eloquently expressed in life."


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