Msgr. Walter R. Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, notes that “During his lifetime, Blessed John Paul II visited this National Shrine on several occasions as Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow and once as Pope during his first pastoral visit to the United States in 1979.” The following announcement is reprinted from the current issue of Mary’s Shrine, the Bulletin of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
A special Mass of Thanksgiving for the Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II will be celebrated on Sunday, May 11, 2014, in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and Chairman of the National Shrine’s Board of Trustees, will be principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass that will begin at 12 noon.
Immediately following the Mass, the faithful will be led in procession from the Basilica to the new National Shrine of Saint John Paul II, just blocks away, to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Devotion to the Divine Mercy is an enduring legacy of Pope John Paul II, who canonized St. Faustina and instituted Divine Mercy Sunday.
All are welcome to attend this great celebration of the heroic lives of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. If you are unable to join us in person, please join us by watching EWTN’s live broadcast of these events.
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