With the sound of water, the symbol of life and rebirth, running through the Alibrandi Catholic Center’s baptismal font, a dozen students gathered for a prayer service in memory of Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II, the charismatic leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died in his private chambers in the Vatican at around 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Saturday at the age of 84 as thousands of faithful stood vigil outside his windows, praying.

A private viewing was held in St. Peter’s Basilica in Clementine Hall Sunday. John Paul II’s public mourning begins today. His body will be on display at the top of the stairs to the Basilica for mourners.

‘It almost feels like a member of the family died,’ said The Rev. Tim Mulligan, chaplain at the Alibrandi Center.

Like a funeral, those at the prayer service shared their memories and thoughts of John Paul II.

Erik Helbing, a second-year law student, always knew God would call the pope back when his work was done.

‘I don’t mourn the death of the Holy Father, but rejoice in it, because now he returns to the ultimate Father,’ he said during the service.

John Paul II was born as Karol Wojtlya on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. With his ordination as pontiff in 1978, John Paul II became the 264th pope and the first non-Italian in 450 years.

The pope’s death came after two months of declining health. He made his last public appearance Wednesday form the windows of his apartment, looking weak and unable to speak. On Thursday, he was administered the sacrament for the sick and the dying, called ‘extreme unction,’ or the last rites, after his heart and circulatory system collapsed.

The pontiff had suffered form Parkinson’s disease for years, an affliction long-denied by Vatican officials, as well as arthritis in his knees and hip. In 1981, he was shot at close range in St. Peter’s square by Turkish national Mehmet Ali Agca, whom he later visited in prison.

He was a ‘model of strength,’ Mulligan said.

‘He led by accepting the cross of his suffering and struggles’ in his last few years, he said.

John Paul II was instrumental in the fall of communism in Poland and helped make huge improvements in the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people, Mulligan said.

He was the first pope to pray in a synagogue and opened diplomatic relations with Israel in 1993.

John Paul II was the most-traveled pontiff, speaking twelve languages and visiting 129 different countries, including Cuba in 2000.

Above all, John Paul II was known as uniter, said Tom Dannan, a junior policy studies major. The pope wasn’t afraid to reach out to youth and to other cultures, he said.

‘He’s a tough act to follow,’ Dannan said.

John Paul II was known for his efforts in social justice and human rights and freedom, Mulligan said. Mulligan remembered one of the pope’s homilies where he compared a biblical passage to first world country’s responsibility to help relieve the debt of third-world nations and international debt.

Foreign leaders expressed their remorse for the Church’s loss Saturday. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared three days of official mourning.

‘The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home,’ President George W. Bush said in a public statement at the White House Saturday.

John Paul II was also vocal in the right of all life, and spoke out against abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia and the war in Iraq.

As good as he was with world leaders, John Paul II related well to young people, though this was not seen as well in the United States, Mulligan said. John Paul II started World Youth Day, held annually, which drew upwards of six million youths.

‘He had a remarkable charisma with young people,’ Mulligan said.

John Paul II was known for his social conservatism, which often drew criticism from more progressive leaders.

Though his message wasn’t always popular, people still really liked him, a testimony to his holiness, said Jason Stoodley, a sophomore environmental biology major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

‘There’s a universal kind of admiration for this man who said it as it is, without watering it down,’ said Mulligan.

As per Church rules, the 117 cardinals will meet to begin the selection of the new pope 15 to 20 days after John Paul II’s death to elect the next pope in series of secret ballots under Michelangelo’s painted depictions of the creation in the Sistine Chapel.

Though Cardinals Francis Arinze of Nigeria and Oscar Andrs Rodrguez Maradiaga from Honduras are often cited as contenders for the pontificate, Mulligan said it is difficult to guess as to who will become the new pope. It will all depend on how the Holy Spirit moves the cardinals during the discussions, he said.

‘The next pope is going to have to be really great to come close to living up to him,’ Stoodley said.

The new pontiff must also be able to be progressive, as John Paul II was, and ‘not be afraid to move the Church into the 21st century.’

John Paul II’s political abilities and ability to travel and engage world leaders will seem more necessary now for future pontiffs, Mulligan said.

‘He’s kind of raised the bar as statesman, as someone who’s spoken to the world and not just the Catholic Church,’ he said.

Published on April 3, 2005 at 12:00 pm