Harvard Community Mourns Deceased Pope

After Pope John Paul II’s death on Saturday, members of the Harvard community said he would be remembered as a highly visible leader who carried the Catholic Church’s message around the world.

The pope, who died at the age of 84 from septic shock and cardiocirculatory collapse, served the papacy for 27 years and was the first non-Italian pope elected in 455 years.

At the regular student Mass yesterday at St. Paul Parish on Mt. Auburn Street, a portrait of John Paul II rested in front of the podium, and attendees said a prayer for the late pope.

Catholic Student Association (CSA) President Anna Lonyai ’06 said there will be a special memorial service in honor of the late pope tonight at 8 p.m. at the CSA student center.

Lonyai, who is also a Crimson editor, said the event would be “something where the students can reflect on the pope’s life and what it means to them, and an informational discussion on how the new pope is going to be selected.”

Stillman Professor of Roman Catholic Theological Studies at the Harvard Divinity School Francis S. Fiorenza said John Paul II will most be remembered for being a ubiquitous figure in the public sphere.

“I think that what he has done is personalize the papacy and the pope. No other pope traveled as much as he did,” Fiorenza said.

Since he assumed the papacy in 1978, John Paul II visited over 125 different countries, reflecting the growing diversity of the Catholic Church.

Andre M. Penalver ’06, vice president of spirituality for the CSA, echoed Fiorenza’s statements regarding John Paul II’s changes to the papacy.

“I think he will be remembered for raising the profile of the papacy in the 20th century,” Penalver said. “He has been very vocal on social justice, and he had an extremely important role in the fall of the Soviet Union. He was very media savvy, and he seemed to be everywhere at once.”

Fiorenza said John Paul II will also be remembered for his efforts to reach out to other religions.

“In a sense he went out of his way with Judaism and with Greek Orthodoxy,” Fiorenza said. “I think there was a spontaneity and an openness that he had that was a source of his personality.”

John Paul II was also known for his conservative positions on issues such as abortion and the role of women in the Church.

“He hasn’t really promoted dialogue in the Church,” Penalver said. “He’s not my favorite pope by any means.”

But Penalver added, “I can’t help but be moved by his faith and devotion to the Church throughout his life.”

Lonyai said she thinks memories of the pope will be overwhelmingly positive.

“I think he is going to be remembered as one of the greatest popes and probably sainthood will follow soon,” Lonyai said.

A new pope will be elected by a vote of the Cardinals at the Vatican, and the vote must begin within 20 days of John Paul II’s death. While there has been much speculation about who the next pope will be, Fiorenza said he doesn’t want to “handicap the horses.”

“It’s hard for me to say, but my suspicion is that they will not go to a very young person or a very old person, but somebody in the middle,” Fiorenza said.

Fiorenza said there is the possibility that the next pope will be from a developing country.

“I think it would definitely reflect progress in the church,” Lonyai said about the possibility.

Penalver added that “they rarely choose a pope who resembles the pope who preceded him.”

—Material from the Associated Press was used in the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor can be reached at evittor@fas.harvard.edu.