The remarkable story of one Catholic leader’s life-changing encounter with Pope John Paul II

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This appeared in the “Catholic Business Journal.”

“One of my first assignments was to serve the lepers. I worked there for six months, and I tell you honestly that I hated it….” So began Fr. Sonny’s story.

This new priest hated the stench. He hated the way, as he put it, “these people gave you more than a hand shake. They gave you parts of their bodies! Their skin and body parts would flake off or fall off all the time. While eating at table, an ear would fall off, sometimes in the soup…. I would ask, ‘OK, whose ear is this in the soup?’ Pus and blood often oozed from their sores. And the stench. The stench was nearly unbearable….

“When I was finally transferred from the leper community,” Fr. Sonny continued, “I was determined that I would never, ever work with lepers again. Never again!”

And so his determination bore fruit. Fr. Sonny was next appointed to the prestigious position of director of Radio Veritas. It was a huge honor, and with it came tremendous responsibility. He executed his duties well, excellently in fact. Several years later, Fr. Sonny played an integral part in preparations for the late Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to the Philippines.

Leading like Christ

The Holy Father let it be known ahead of time that he wished to include a visit with the lepers as part of his itinerary. Since the visit was short, the Vatican asked that the lepers be brought to the Radio station so that the Pope could meet them there rather than having him drive out to the colony.

“NO WAY!” thought Fr. Sonny. He acted quickly when he heard this news. He was not about to let the lepers come to his radio station! He knew better than most what that meant. The stench. The falling body parts. This important visit was not going to take place in his radio station!

Fr. Sonny’s thoughts quickly became actions: “I acted faster than the planners and orchestrated the hasty construction of a new building for the lepers. I knew there was no way I would allow those people to come to my radio station, my work place!”

Preparations continued without problem and the day arrived for the Holy Father’s visit. Arriving with the Cardinal and a small entourage, Pope John Paul II met with the young priest director of the Radio Veritas. But soon after formalities and greetings, the Holy Father inquired about “his favorite people.” “When will we meet with my favorite people?” he asked.

The Cardinal assumed that Pope John Paul II meant something different. But Fr. Sonny cut in. He knew what the Holy Father meant. “The lepers?” Fr. Sonny smiled. “They are in the new building waiting for you.” Fr. Sonny then indicated the person who would be leading the way.

This continues with the next post. This piece is longer that the length allowed for Catholic Answers Forums posts, so it is provided in two parts.

 

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The Simple Invitation of Love

As the entourage filed out of the office, Pope John Paul II turned to Fr. Sonny, “You are not coming with us?”

“I gave him every excuse in the book,” Fr. Sonny told us. “There was no way I was going to go with him! NO WAY!”

But then Pope John Paul II did something unexpected. Something irresistible. The Pope walked back over to Fr. Sonny and took his hand. “Come,” he enjoined the priest. “Come with us.”

“What could I do?” lamented Fr. Sonny. “I had to go with the Holy Father.”

We in the congregation laughed at this point in the story; of course we thought we knew what was coming next. But instead, it was here that the remarkable happened.

Keep in mind that no media were allowed to accompany the Holy Father on this next segment of his visit.

“When we entered the building where the lepers were waiting,” Fr. Sonny recounted, “the Holy Father was greeted by three children. The children were bald. They had lacerations on their heads where the leprosy was starting. Blood and ugliness were in their wounds, large, gaping wounds.”

“Pope John Paul leaned down and kissed each child,” the priest continued, describing the moment so vividly as if it were yesterday. His voice cracked as he continued: “The Pope did not kiss their hands or cheeks. He kissed their heads. He kissed their wounds .

“The Pope was smiling, joyous. He had such a big smile—from ear to ear. You could see how happy he was. ‘Thank you,’ the Pope told the children, ‘Thank you for letting me kiss the wounds of Christ.’”

The priest continued to describe the moment: “As Pope John Paul wandered up to the front of the room, he kissed each leper. He embraced each one. He blessed them. And his smile and joy grew with each new greeting. Again, as he spoke to them, he thanked them for letting him kiss the wounds of Christ.

“The Pope told the crowd of lepers that some people assumed that his happiest moment was when it was announced that he would he became the next pope. ‘But they are wrong,’ the Holy Father explained passionately. ‘ Today is the happiest day of my life. It is the happiest day of my life because today I have been allowed to kiss the wounds of Christ!’”

“There was not a dry eye in the room,” the priest continued. “The Cardinal had to leave. He was bawling like a baby. Just crying. We were all crying. But not Pope John Paul II. He was smiling and filled to overflowing with joy.”

This is from an article in “Catholic Business Journal,” “Lead Like Christ: The remarkable story of one Catholic leader’s life-changing encounter with Pope John Paul II,” at https://www.catholicbusinessjournal...fe-changing-encounter-with-pope-john-paul-ii/)