John Paul II contributed significantly to the collapse of the empire of evil -said Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski during Mass on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Karol Wojtyła’s birthday, celebrated in the Sanctuary of St John Paul II in Krakow.

In his homily, the Metropolitan of Krakow, Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski recalled the message of the pontificate of John Paul II: „Do not fear! Open, open the door to Christ”, which sounded on October 22, 1978 at St. Peter’s Square.

„It was the cry of a man who was fully aware of the mission entrusted to him by God”.

He indicated that „the nobles of this world wanted to put an end to this great cry at all costs”.

That is why there was an assassination attempt on his life on May 13, 1981. And then it turned out that Mary, to whom he had had fully devoted himself (…) became his shield

— said the Metropolitan. In this context, he also recalled the Pope’s later words about the fact that „one hand fired, but another hand was leading the bullet”.

Referring to the words of Benedict XVI, the Metropolitan pointed out that in the case of the Polish Pope,

„the power of faith turned out to be a great strength”, which in 1989 „made the Soviet system of power unsustainable and enabled a new beginning”.

However, the Archbishop noted that the fall of the communist system did not end the struggle between good and evil.

Since the early 1990s, John Paul II recognized a growing wave of threats against the institutions of marriage and the family - and this on a global scale

— he recalled.

The afternoon mass was preceded by the release of hundreds of white pigeons into the sky to symbolize that John Paul II was the Pope of Peace.

Tłum. K.J.