I was 18-years-old. It still brings a lump to my throat. We prayed and we watched the TV News updates. Time seemed to freeze in those hours, as we wondered, "Would John Paul II live?" Thanks to the Blessed Virgin Mary for saving his life that day. She knew how much the Church and the world needed him!
And, of course, it was the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, who would be for all time linked to this epoch-defining papacy and the world-shaking historical events that were soon to happen.
On that fateful spring day in 1981, however, none of us imagined that the liberation of Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union would all happen within a little more than a decade. In 1981 the Iron Curtain seemed like a permanent fixture of political geography (although the rise of Solidarity in John Paul’s native Poland was a glimmer of hope). Indeed, the failed assassin was likely hired by agents from behind the Iron Curtain.
In those days, Mary’s promise of “the conversion of Russia” was an object of prayer and inconceivable aspiration. Although something new began for Russia in 1992, it has turned out to be a long and painful road full of dangers, suffering for the people and their neighbors (especially Ukraine), and violent dreams among those who grasped power in the ensuing decades.
But there are reasons for hope. Some Russians have glimpsed the “Promised Land,” the Beautiful Russia of the future, and have shared their vision with their compatriots and the world. Alexei Navalny saw it and gave his life for it — not, however, without beginning to build a new road and exemplify the journey through the awakening of his own Christian faith.
As we pray for peace, let’s not forget to pray for the conversion of Russia, a land so dear to the Heart of the Mother of God and her Son.
Pope Leo XIV marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination attempt of Saint John Paul II by stopping in Saint Peter’s Square to pray at the stone which marks the place where his predecessor shed his blood on that day.
Through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, may Jesus draw all people to Himself, and grant peace to our poor world.
