Saint John Paul II - Resurrection Cemetery, Justice, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 45.414 W 087° 49.639
16T E 431223 N 4623116
On Memorial Day, May 30th, 2016, Archbishop Cupich blessed a 20 foot tall bronze statue of Saint Pope John Paul II that's placed on an eight foot tall American black granite base located in Resurrection Cemetery.
Waymark Code: WM10M45
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 05/26/2019
Views: 1
More from the Catholic Cemeteries website:
"Commissioned by the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2013 and designed by Teresa Clark of Clark Design. The statue weighs approximately 8000 pounds and rests upon a black granite base of 86,000 pounds.
Starting with Teresa's 18" clay sculpture, the staff of The Crucible Foundry in Norman OK worked over 52 months to maintain Teresa's tool marks and thumb prints of the model throughout the wax and sand casting, as well as the assembly of high quality silicone bronze that makes up the St. John Paul II statue. Teresa's image did not reflect a certain time of Pope John Paul's life but captured the essence of the saint over the years of his pontificate."
See the blessing event here: (
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The inscription on the front reads:
SAINT JOHN PAUL II
(Karol Josef Wojtyla)
May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005
Papacy - October 16,1978 to April 2, 2005
Canonized - April 27, 2014
Feast Day - October 22nd
In 1969 and again in 1976, before he became Pope John Paul II, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla the Archbishop of Kracow, walked the grounds of Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. So the placement of this statue here is a fitting tribute. Posting this on Memorial Day weekend 2019.
From Wikipedia: (
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"Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyla18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005.
He was elected pope by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who had been elected in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Cardinal Wojtyla was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. John Paul II is recognized as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. He upheld the Church's teachings on such matters as the right to life, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation. He was one of the most traveled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate."