{"id":532,"date":"2022-03-24T19:51:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T17:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linijos.lt\/adrl\/sil\/?page_id=532"},"modified":"2022-03-26T15:26:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-26T13:26:31","slug":"sv-jonas-paulius-ii-ir-siluva","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/siluva.lt\/en\/sv-jonas-paulius-ii-ir-siluva\/","title":{"rendered":"St. John Paul II and \u0160iluva"},"content":{"rendered":"

The visit of st. John Paul II to \u0160iluva<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

On September 7, 1993, on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Saint John Paul II visited \u0160iluva. The Holy Father had more than once mentioned in his addresses that he dreamed of praying before the image of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn and of honoring the renowned Virgin of \u0160iluva \u2013 Health of the Sick.<\/p>\n

On the fourth day of his visit to Lithuania, the Holy Father arrived in \u0160iluva by helicopter from Hill of Crosses. A special landing site had been prepared for this occasion on the edge of the town, by the road to Raseiniai. Today, the spot is marked by a large wooden cross erected on a small hill.<\/p>\n

He then traveled by popemobile along the town\u2019s side streets, passing residents\u2019 homes and the cemetery on his way to the Apparition Chapel. After stepping out of the popemobile, he went to greet the people\u2014rather than proceeding directly to the chapel as planned\u2014which posed a significant challenge for security.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n

At the chapel, he met with Prelate E. Sima\u0161ka. Inside the chapel, he knelt in prayer and kissed the stone of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n

He then took part in the Liturgy of the Word in the basilica, dedicated to the theme \u201cThe Christian Family.\u201d\u00a0pamokslo \u012fra\u0161\u0105 i\u0161sagojo LRT >><\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the end of the celebration, at the request of Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevi\u010dius, he personally crowned the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary\u2014brought from the United States and having visited many Lithuanian diaspora parishes\u2014entrusting the Lithuanian nation to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n

The Pope\u2019s visit to \u0160iluva is commemorated by a golden rosary crafted by Vatican artisans and donated by him, which is now kept in the \u0160iluva Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\"<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Pope Saint John Paul II asked the Virgin of \u0160iluva to strengthen the resolve of the Lithuanian people to listen to the word of Jesus\u2014the Word of Life that was sown here centuries ago.\nThe Holy Father assured the faithful that Mary, the Queen of Peace, who has protected Lithuania for centuries, will not abandon it in the future. At the same time, he urged them to follow her example as a \u201cpilgrim of faith\u201d: to direct their entire lives toward Christ, to listen to the Word of God, and to live by it.<\/p>\n

Full text of the Holy Father\u2019s homily >><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Addressing the Pope and the gathered faithful, Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevi\u010dius emphasized the importance of devotion to Mary and pilgrimages to \u0160iluva in the Lithuanian nation\u2019s journey toward freedom:<\/p>\n

\u201cA very eloquent sign given to us by Providence is that the rebirth of conscience and of society, and the beginning of liberation, are closely linked precisely with the revival of Eucharistic adoration and devotion to Mary.\nIn the 1970s and 1980s, penitential and prayer pilgrimages of Catholics\u2014mostly young people\u2014to \u0160iluva, the communal praying of the Holy Rosary, and the spirit of reparation for the sins of the nation\u2014as the true path to inner freedom\u2014helped to shape the self-awareness of the Church in Lithuania and encouraged the activity and responsibility of the laity in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>