Shrine receives replica of crosier

PASSAIC  There are many iconic images and portraits of St. Pope John Paul II showing him embracing his papal crosier or pastoral staff that displays Jesus crucified on the cross. This silver, rough-hewn crosier was with him on every trip he made to all parts of the world during his long pontificate.

Now the Diocesan Shrine of St John Paul II here has a replica of this iconic crosier given as a gift by Bishop Emeritus Serratelli, who presented it to the parish on the weekend of Aug. 29-30 where he celebrated Mass for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and confirmed young people of the parish.

“An Italian family, the Fabrizios, gave me the crosier, which is a replica of the one that John Paul II used all the time. They gave it to me in 2001 when I visited Rome after I was ordained a new bishop in 2000. I kept it all these years.”

The design of St. John Paul II’s most loved papal ferula was created by Italian sculptor Lello Scorzelli and commissioned by Pope Paul VI who used it for the first time during the closing ceremony of the Second Vatican Council on Dec. 8, 1965. His successors used it but it is most linked with St. John Paul II.

Giving the replica crosier to the Diocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II at Holy Rosary Parish seemed fitting to the Bishop Emeritus, especially since the beloved Polish saint had close ties to the Passaic church. On Aug. 6, 1976, the future Pope John Paul II, then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, celebrated Mass in Holy Rosary Church. He was in the area with 19 Polish bishops, who were attending the Eucharistic Congress in Philadel­phia. They visited Holy Rosary Church to celebrate the 50th anniversary Mass for the late Archbishop Cieplak and to visit St. Mary Hospital in Passaic where Arch­bishop Cieplak passed away.

“I’ve always been impressed by the devotion of the people at the Shrine of St. John Paul II,” Bishop Emeritus Serratelli said. “The number of people that come to the Masses is amazing and they are very active in the parish.”

The crosier was placed near a relic of St. John Paul II in the church. The relic contains the saint’s blood, which was obtained after he was shot in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima in 1981.

Holy Rosary Parish was designated the Diocesan Shrine to Blessed John Paul II a year after the late pope’s beatification on May 1, 2011 and during a visit by Pope John Paul II’s long-time assistant Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who visited the parish on July 1, 2012. Bishop Serratelli designated the shrine at Holy Rosary so the faithful might seek St. John Paul II’s intercession and find strength in his example.

“We are very grateful to receive the gift from Bishop Serratelli,” Father Stefan Las, pastor of the Shrine/Holy Rosary, told The Beacon. “It reminds the people a lot about St. Pope John Paul II. It is very beautiful and it means so much to our parishioners. At the shrine, the parishioners have a great devotion to St. Pope John Paul II. His teachings and moral values stay strong in the people and during these difficult times, they have asked him to intercede for them.”