Apr 05, 2005
DePaul University Mourns Pope John Paul II
President Issues Statement on the Death of the Pope
The Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in America, announced campus memorial celebrations and issued a statement upon the death of Pope John Paul II.
In reverent honor of Pope John Paul II’s passing and in keeping with the spiritual traditions of the Church and the university, several memorial celebrations and expressions are planned for students, faculty and staff as part of a period of mourning.
The doorways of campus worship spaces — including the Lewis Center Chapel, 25 E. Jackson Blvd. in the Loop; the Student Center Reflection Room in Lincoln Park; and the Barat Chapel — have been draped with black bunting. Once a new pope is chosen, the black bunting will be replaced by the papal colors of white and yellow. In addition, the Barat Chapel will remain open for prayer and reflection 24 hours a day until that time.
Tuesday, April 5
Communion Service in the Pope’s Memory
Noon
Barat Chapel
700 E. Westleigh Road, Lake Forest
Wednesday, April 6
Memorial Prayer Services
11 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Lincoln Park Student Center, Reflection Room
2250 N. Sheffield Ave.
DePaul Center, 11th floor
State St. at Jackson Blvd. (Use 333 S. State St. entrance)
Thursday, April 7
Memorial Mass
4 p.m.
St. Vincent de Paul Church
1010 W. Webster Ave.
Friday, April 8
Telecast, Holy Father’s Funeral Liturgy
All Morning (continuous re-broadcast)
Lincoln Park Student Center
DePaul Center, 11th floor
Memorial displays will be created inside university worship spaces, and a memorial table will be erected on the DePaul Center’s 11th floor. Students, staff and faculty are invited to visit any of these spaces to reflect and to sign their names or share personal messages in a Book of Remembrance. These books will be donated to the university’s archives.
For further information about DePaul’s papal memorials, please contact Richard Balentine, University Ministry’s chaplain for the Catholic Community and Ritual Life, at (773) 325-4869.
Presidential Statement
"The entire DePaul University community joins the world in mourning the passing of Pope John Paul II, whose 26-year papacy undoubtedly will claim a monumental place in the history of Roman Catholicism and the modern era.
As we celebrate the life of this extraordinary and holy man, we recall his deep, profound and moving faith, as well as his outreach to people of all faiths. We recall the pastoral zeal that drove him so relentlessly to so many corners of the world. We recall his frequently historic addresses of the Church’s role in past human rights issues and his plea for forgiveness for the Church’s past treatment of Jews, women, heretics and native peoples. Here, in the context of university life, we recall in a particular way his commitment to young people and his brilliant, searching and critical intellect.
We had the great honor to witness the way in which the Holy Father died, just as we watched him live: with an unwavering faith in the Lord and in the power of Christ’s resurrection to conquer sin, pain, suffering and death.
The pontiff’s prayer, in life as in death, always echoed the perfect prayer of all Christians: 'Thy will be done.' May God grant Pope John Paul II eternal rest, and may His perpetual light shine upon him. Please join me in praying for the eternal repose of his soul and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit upon the conclave that will elect his successor."
-Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. President, DePaul University