To the end, he was true to the words he spoke in the beginning. On Sunday, Oct. 22, 1978, at his inaugural mass as the 264th Bishop of Rome, John Paul II prayed: "Christ, make me become and remain the servant of your unique power, the servant of your sweet power, the servant of your power that knows no eventide." To reassure the oppressed, the poor and the lonely, the new pope evoked the words of Jesus: "Be not afraid!"
Fearless and serene, John Paul II died last week after years of overt suffering--his last eloquent testimony to the sanctity of life--taking his leave with characteristic grace in his apartments above St. Peter's Square.
He was a mirror and a maker of modern times. On Sept. 1, 1939, when the Luftwaffe began bombing Cracow, young Karol Wojtyla was serving as an altar boy at Friday morning mass. (Despite the attack, Wojtyla and the priest finished the eucharist.) He survived Nazism and communism, always bearing witness to the power of freedom. A confounding figure by the lights of the secular world, he was that rarest of creatures: a man of moral and philosophical consistency. Shattering conventional ideological categories, he believed in justice, and so condemned communism and critiqued capitalism; he cherished life, and so abhorred abortion and fought against the death penalty.
For this week's Special Report, Christopher Dickey reported from Rome on the pope's last days, and Simon Barnett, Susanne Miklas, Myra Kreiman and Beth Johnson produced powerful photography to capture the essence of this most visible of men. From religious doctrine to foreign policy to ecumenical relations, Kenneth L. Woodward assesses the pope with the benefit of nearly 40 years of covering the Vatican and global Roman Catholicism. Andrew Nagorski, who served as our Rome bureau chief from 1982 to 1985, recalls life on the road with John Paul and the pope's role in helping to end the cold war. Andy also looks ahead to the conclave that will choose John Paul's successor. And in an exclusive essay, biographer George Weigel gives us a glimpse of the pontiff in private.
"In this world ye shall have tribulation," Jesus tells his disciples in the Gospel of John, "but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." A man of consummate cheer, John Paul II is now face to face with the God to whom he devoted his life--and the rest of us are living in a freer, better world because of Karol Wojtyla's courage in challenging totalitarianism, intolerance and fear. May light perpetual shine upon him.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
