John Paul the Great<br/><br/>

Marco Politi, a Vatican reporter for La Repubblica newspaper, quoted the Rev. Jarek Cielecki, editor of the Vatican news service, as saying: “At a certain point, a few moments before he died, the Pope raised his right hand, moving it in an obvious, if only faint, gesture of blessing, as if he were aware of the crowd of the faithful present in the square who at the time were following the saying of the rosary. As soon as the prayer was over, the pope made a very great effort and said the word 'Amen'. A moment later, he was dead.”<br/><br/>

Here are some of the quotes made before by our late Holy Father:<br/><br/>

• “Be not afraid! Open the doors to Christ”. (Pontification 1978)
• “Never lose your trust, do not be defeated, do not be discouraged.” (Poland 1979)
• “Generally speaking, we Christians and Muslims have misunderstood each other, and in the past weakened each other with polemics and wars, which sapped all our strength. Today God Almighty calls on us to give up those old attitudes.” (Morocco 1985)
• “[Mahatma Ghandi] was never a Christian and he never pretended to be a Christian, but I learned a lot from him.” (India 1986)
• “War is an adventure without return.” (Christmas Day speech in 1990 on eve of Gulf War I)
• “Violence never again! War never again! Terrorism never again! In the name of God, may every religion bring upon the earth justice and peace, forgiveness and life. Love.” (post-September 11 attacks)<br/><br/>

“To humanity, which at times seems to be lost and dominated by the power of evil, egoism and fear, the risen Lord offers as a gift His love that forgives, reconciles and reopens the spirit to hope,” affirmed the Popen in his posthumous message. “It is love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much need the world has to understand and accept Divine Mercy!” Our late Holy Father's message stated.<br/><br/>

Let us all pray for our late Holy Father, and may he rest in peace forever.