Pope John Paul II

I remember back in 1979 when the Vatican announced that an unknown cleric from Poland would be the next Pope. It was odd because we had just named a new Pope a month before. I even remember joking with my eighth grade friends about the new one that was in the process of being elected. He better outlast the last one. Maybe two months, we said. Later at mass, I remember the young hotshot priest of the church reading some one-liners delivered by the new Pontiff to his adoring crowd. The attendees of the five o'clock mass in St. Joseph's chuckled at the mild jokes of the new Pope. Maybe he'll be special, I remember my mom telling me. She was amazed that a non-Italian was now the leader of the church, the first one in more than four hundred years. Now the talk is the new Pontiff will be either an Italian or an African in order to shore up the church's base. I still think we might see a cardinal nominated from South America because that seems to be the real strength of the faith. This will be an interesting few weeks.