I’m actually surprised there haven’t been more people commenting on this. I assumed after the movie the Board would be jam-packed. I guess most of the members don’t stay up as late as I do.
I didn’t convert until last December and it wasn’t until the end of his life that I realized how much JP II really meant to me. Maybe I took him for granted because he was Pope for so long. But I certainly miss him now (though I mean nothing against Benedict XVI, who I am thrilled to have as Pope). I feel his guidance more now than ever.
The last night of JPII’s life was one of the most memorable and unusual I’ve ever passed, since I felt almost like I was there in the square, waiting on him and praying for him with thousands of others, and the morning (here) that Benedict XVI was elected was certainly memorable to me. I was crying hearing the bells ringing and seeing people running to the Vatican. I stayed home so late wanting to see the new Pope come out that I missed my bus and had to take a taxi to work, then frantically flipped stations on my little pocket radio trying to find one that wasn’t carrying bad music or sports talk and was actually covering the event. The “Habemus Papem” just sent shivers up my spine.
And I still wonder why this was. Was there ever any doubt we’d get a new Pope? Was it relief we had a new Holy Father after days without our beloved JPII?
But yes, I’ll have to agree with the previous poster who broke down watching the actual footage in the movie of JP II coming out onto the balcony. It’s the excitement of seeing history happen, and knowing how triumphant and glorious that history is going to be.
It’s going to take us many years to fully grasp the importance of JPII, I think. I was in a Catholic bookstore last week, just thumbing through a copy of his “Theology of the Body.” I knew he was a great mind, but wow—there was profound stuff in that.
We were truly blessed to have him aming us. What an epic life!