In America's Heartland: A Pope John Paul II Moment

The Archdiocese is counting down to Pope John Paul's beatification! There will be a special Eucharistic celebration at Holy Rosary Cathedral at 2:30 pm on Pope John Paul's May 1 beatification.

In celebration of JP2's life, here's a video about the historic gathering that happened in Iowa because of a simple farmer's handwritten letter inviting Pope John Paul to visit America's heartland. On October 4 of that year, Pope John Paul made a brief stop in Iowa, an addition to his itinerary. Over 300,000 pilgrims, including non-Catholics, gathered in Urbandale, Iowa, to join the Pope in the celebration of the Eucharist.





To the crowd, the Pope said: "Here in the heartland of America, in the middle of bountiful fields at harvest time, I have come to celebrate the Eucharist. Farmers everywhere provide bread for all humanity, but it is Christ alone who is the Bread of Life. He alone satisfies the deepest hunger of humanity. While we are mindful of the physical hunger of millions of our brothers and sisters, at this Eucharist we are reminded that the deepest hunger lies in the human soul. Even if all the physical hunger of the world were satisfied, the deepest hunger of man will still exist. Therefore i say, come all of you to Christ, He is the Bread of Life. Come of Christ and you will never be hungry again." (source)

Also read the story of the Methodist man who was the pilot of the papal plane, Shepherd One, during Pope John Paul's 1979 visit to the US.