Hundreds of worshipers packed Holy Spirit Catholic Church Sunday to celebrate the canonization of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II. The mass was led by Gustavo Garcia-Siller, archbishop of San Antonio. “My hope is that if we celebrate well today that people will call upon these saints and to receive graces from them that are so needed,” Garcia-Siller said. The archbishop said both men were instrumental in making major changes to the Catholic church during their time in the papacy. “John XXIII is the one who opened the church to the world in Vatican II. Even visually, it was the opening of the windows so that the church would go out to meet the reality of the people, also so that people can come into the church,” he said. “Of the recent popes, John Paul II was the most well-known. Part of it was all his travelling and all his teachings. He was a very articulate man, and (through) his documents and reflection he reached out to many people, especially young people.” John Paul II travels brought him to San Antonio in 1987. “It was 24 well-spent hours. He was ministering constantly. He was able to reach out to the poor. He was able to reach out to the sick. He was able to reach out to the universities,” the archbishop said. Before the mass Garcia-Siller led the congregation in prayer to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. During his homily he asked worshipers to look up the two popes as examples of how to live their own lives. “My hope tonight is that we will honor the occasion well with a very dignified manner, and then to instill the devotion to ask these two intercessors, for us in the Catholic church, to help us,” he said. For Julio Granados the mass was an opportunity to honor two men who devoted their lives to the church. “We honor their inspiration and all the hard work they did to come and bring us a message of mercy and it’s very important,” Granado said. Garcia-Siller’s presence at the mass comes amid speculation that he could be headed back to the Archdiocese of Chicago where he served as an auxiliary bishop. When asked whether he would consider a position in the Midwest, Siller said he was happy in the Alamo City. “I have been falling in love more and more with the people of San Antonio and I feel very committed to what the lord has asked me to do here,” he said. #KSATnews #KSATnews
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 04:00:36 +0000
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