November 9, 1989: The Fall of the Berlin Wall & Pope John Paul II

Papal Artifacts honors the memory of Saint John Paul II and his role in the demise of communism including the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A preeminent authority on the Catholic Church and papal biographer describes what he learned from chronicling the life of Pope John Paul II.

George Weigel

In Lessons in Hope, George Weigel tells the story of his unique friendship with St. John Paul II. As Weigel learns the pope “from inside,” he also offers a firsthand account of the tumult of post-Vatican II Catholicism and the Cold War’s endgame, introducing readers to the heroes who brought down European communism. Later, he shows us the aging pope grappling with the post-9/11 world order and teaching new lessons in dignity through his own suffering.

A deeply humane portrait of an eminent scholar learning a saint, Lessons in Hope is essential reading for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of a world-changing pope.

The Featured Image

In May of 1981 papal travel protocol was changed with the assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II. Because of the Pope’s rare blood type there was concern of a shortage for his needs when he lost so much blood from the gunshot wounds.

After he healed his doctors decided to draw his own blood so as always to have a fresh supply in case there was another emergency. So after 1981 everywhere the pope traveled so did a few pints of his own blood just in case. After his death, these spare pints of his blood became relics of a saint.

The Church has allowed distribution of some of his blood to various churches and dioceses throughout the world for veneration. I am humbled to have been chosen to received a relic of Saint John Paul’s blood through the assistance of my friend, Archbishop Schnurr of Cincinnati.

In Duluth, Minnesota, because of the Curator of Papal Artifacts, this relic of Saint John Paul’s blood will be exposed for veneration at his parish.

Papal Artifacts extends our gratitude to Archbishop Schnurr and to Father Richard Kunst for their great devotion to this modern day saint and to their abilities to bring him home to us.

Saint John Paul, pray for us!

St. Pope John Paul II

George Weigel’s latest book, “Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II,” is the third panel in a great triptych he has composed in honor of the most consequential Catholic figure of the second half of the twentieth century.