In Pascagoula, George Weigel reflects on the life of the ‘pope from Galilee’

by Chris Spear

Author and theologian George Weigel visited Our Lady of Victories parish on February 21 to reflect on the accomplishments of St. Pope John Paul II, nearly two decades after his death in April 2005. Weigel, whose two-volume biography of the pope remains an international bestseller, is the author of more than thirty other books, including Letters to a Young Catholic, Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church, and Lessons in Hope.
Weigel framed the discussion in Pascagoula by reviewing the internation situation of the Church in late 1978, when John Paul II began his papacy. Differing interpretations of Vatican II were creating a ecclesiastical civil war, with Catholics’ attention and energy turned inwards rather than outwards towards evangelical mission. The Sexual Revolution and rejection of traditional authority had, as the author put it, “torn great holes in the fabric of humanity.” Seminaries and women’s religious orders were emptying rapidly, and the Church seemed to have nothing notable to say to these upheavals. Pope John Paul II, Weigel suggested, had stepped in and stopped many of these declines, often reversing them.
One of his most notable accomplishments began in June 1979, less than a year into his papacy, when he made his first pilgrimage home to Poland. There, Weigel attests, he helped ignite the consciences of his countrymen laboring under an atheistic communist state. John Paul’s 1979 inspiration led directly to the birth of the Solidarity movement, which was ultimately the key to the first free and peaceful democratic elections within the Soviet sphere ten years later. Those Polish elections, along with other John Paul-encouraged movements in nearby countries, helped topple communism in Europe without the bloodshed of the world wars or Russian Revolution.
His Theology of the Body was a strong, fully Christian response to the Sexual Revolution, re-emphasizing timeless truths about married love and its ultimate reflection in the life-giving relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The pope also paid close attention to sub-Saharan Africa, where Catholicism was growing by leaps and bounds and local bishops were becoming an influential voice in world affairs. Africa is expected to become the demographic center of global Catholicism by 2050.
John Paul II also welcomed young adults into the Church, keying off his own youth ministry experience as a newly-ordained priest in Poland. His World Youth Days (WYD) have become an ongoing global phenomenon, especially here in the United States after WYD 1993 in Denver. Weigel highlighted that American seminaries today are better than ever before, and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students is flourishing on campuses nationwide — both direct results of John Paul’s efforts.
To accomplish so much during his papacy is due in part to the pope’s own unique personal gifts. But George Weigel affirmed in Pascagoula that St. John Paul II accomplished more, and more deeply, as a “radically convinced Christian disciple.” His passion and prayer in following Jesus Christ inspired the French journalist André Frossard to tell others in 1978, “This is not a Pope from Poland; this is a Pope from Galilee.”
Transitional Deacon Adam Frey serves at Our Lady of Victories and Resurrection High School. He found fresh perspectives on his seminary studies through Weigel’s work. “It was a real privilege to be able to attend this talk by George Weigel, a renowned Catholic theologian, and hear his take on how things transpired after Vatican II, especially under John Paul II,” he said. “While I was seminarian, a lot of our teaching was from Vatican II and prior, so it was very good to hear a different approach to…that foundation built in my formation.”
Thomas Wixon, an instituted acolyte and parishioner of Our Lady of Victories, organized the lecture through his long-standing personal friendship with Weigel. “Thankfully we have the wisdom of George Weigel instilled from St. Pope John Paul II to encourage future generations,” he said. “I consider George as a ‘second-class relic’ from St. John Paul II, and he continues to pass on the truth of our Catholic faith in his lectures and with his books.”
Adam Chapman teaches Theology at — appropriately enough — Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell. “I got Mr. Weigel’s book when I was about 17 or 18 as a Christmas present…His narrative of John Paul, who was the original person who had a profound influence on my life, really made me incredibly interested in politics, public life, and the relationship between our Catholic faith and the modern world.”
Chapman, who is a native of Pascagoula, enjoyed being back on the Coast to meet one of his literary heroes. “It was really exciting for me to meet Weigel. For me, this is better than meeting Taylor Swift.”

George Weigel’s website is http://www.georgeweigel.com.