MAHOPAC – A historic moment unfolded at St. John’s Church in Mahopac on Sunday when Bishop Gerardo Colacicco celebrated a special mass as first-class relics of Saint John Paul II and Saint Faustina Kowalska were installed in the house of worship overlooking Lake Mahopac.
St. John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła was the 264th Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978–2005 and was renowned as the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, in addition to being a pivotal figure in ending European communism. His 26-year pontificate, the third-longest in history, focused on human rights, youth, and his “Theology of the Body.”
Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament was a Polish Catholic religious sister who had apparitions of Jesus Christ, which inspired the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy. She is often referred to as the ‘secretary’ of Divine Mercy.
The Catholic Church canonized Kowalska as a saint in 2000.
During the celebration, Bishop Colacicco also blessed a hand-painted, original copy of the Divine Mercy Image from Kraków which Father Szymon Kurpios, pastor of St. John’s Church called a “beautiful sign of God’s mercy and love for us all. This is a significant and grace-filled event for our parish family and for all of Putnam County.”
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