My Life-Changing Encounters with a Modern Saint

It was May 13, 1981 — one of the few days I was ever home sick from high school. The first image that flashed on the television screen that day was of a severely wounded Pope John Paul II being rushed off to the hospital.

The pope had just been shot in St. Peter’s Square by a man named Mehmet Ali Agca — and this memory of a blood-stained pope is deeply etched in my mind and heart. Little did I know that just nine years later, I would personally meet him in Rome in a unique encounter that deeply inspired me during my years of preparation for the priesthood.

In May 1990, while still a seminarian at the Legion of Christ’s Center for Higher Studies in Rome, my parents visited me from Michigan — and we went together to the public rosary that the pope held the first Saturday of every month. Thanks to the help of Fr. John Hopkins, LC, we had incredible seats right along the barricade, where the pope would pass by.

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After the rosary, as Pope John Paul II walked by, my mom asked, “Holy Father, could you please give us your blessing?”

The Holy Father’s eyes lit up as he said, “Sure!” He blessed my mom and dad, and then turned to bless me.

Putting his hand on my forehead, he turned to my mom and asked, “Is your son a priest?”

“Not yet, Holy Father,” she answered.

The pope looked at me for several seconds and said, “He will be a priest!” This was an incredible experience for me. I felt a rush of joy in my heart. After hearing those powerful words, I have never doubted my vocation.

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Five years later in 1995 — again in the month of May — another opportunity arose. Still a seminarian at the time, I was attending a private Mass at the Vatican with the Holy Father, accompanied by my mom and my aunt. My father had passed away a year before.

As we entered the private chapel at 6:45 a.m., we were escorted to the front pew just a few feet away from the pope, who was still immersed in prayer. The experience of witnessing a man of God in prayer was impressive. The pope’s fists were tightly clenched and his eyes were completely shut. I was amazed to see the pope truly “battle” in prayer. His hands were pounding against the kneeler and it seemed he was seriously grappling with an issue.

After celebrating the Mass, the Holy Father went back to his kneeler, where he remained for an additional 45 minutes of prayer. When he finally came out to meet everyone in the reception parlor, there was a visible light and glow around his face. He radiated so much peace and joy with his smile and his kind words. When I looked into his eyes, I could only see the goodness and gentleness of Christ.

Fast forward to January 2005 — just a few months before he died. I was the chaplain for a group of Regnum Christi Mission Corps volunteers, and during the general audience, a Swiss Guard approached and asked, “Are you Fr. Michael, and a friend of Msgr. Mietek Mokrzycki?”

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I had been friends with Msgr. Mietek, one of the pope’s private secretaries, a few years before he was named to that post, so this providential friendship was behind the many opportunities I had to meet and be close to St. John Paul II.

Msgr. Mietek wanted our group to come up to the platform to meet the pope after the audience and have our photo taken with him. I knew the Holy Father was not feeling well at that time, so just being at this audience was very costly for him — but it meant the world to me and those with me to have this close encounter with such a holy pope.

I can only hope to try to imitate the pope’s incredible sanctity and total self-giving.

As we approached the platform, I could see the pain but also a profound peace and joy in the pope’s face. I was able to kiss his ring and thank him for this special privilege for our group. Then, as I knelt in his presence just before the photo, I felt his hand softly pat me on the head two times. Two days later, I picked up a photograph from this moment, which the Holy Father personally signed that morning.

So many other memories flood my heart from my time with this great saint — and I can only hope to try to imitate his incredible sanctity and total self-giving.

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC, is a Catholic priest who is the New York chaplain of the Lumen Institute, an association of business and cultural leaders.

(photo credit, homepage images: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F059404-0019 / Schaack, Lothar / CC-BY-SA 3.0 DE ; photo credit, article images: Pope John Paul…, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Radomił Binek)