A memorial Mass was offered in the Mission Church on April 4 to celebrate the life of Pope John Paul II. In a message to campus, SCU President Paul Locatelli, S.J., called the Pope “one of the great figures of the 20th Century, truly a charismatic and prophetic leader for the world.”
Locatelli said the Pope “worked for unity among Christian religions, improved relations between Jews and Christians, and called for cooperation and tolerance among all religious traditions. He served as a moral compass, often speaking eloquently, with a clear option for the poor and for social, political, and economic justice. He always called for peace and human dignity for each person.”
Pope John Paul II, Locatelli added, “successfully guided the globalization of the Catholic Church, especially incorporating the voice of the poor and the Third World. Through his travels of over half a million miles and his visits to countries on every continent he won the love and respect of Catholics, young people, and people of all faith traditions throughout the world. The world is a better place because of Pope John Paul.”
To mark the election of Pope Benedict XVI, SCU held a Mass in the Mission Church on April 22. The liturgy was to pray for the new pope and, as Locatelli said, “to ask the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit as the Church moves into this new era of papal leadership.” Locatelli asked the campus to pray for the new Pope’s “inspired leadership in addressing (global) challenges and building greater unity and peace within the Church, across all religious traditions, and among people of all nations.”