Church dedicates display to Pope John Paul II
Stained-glass window commemorates day leader survived assassination
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

St. Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church celebrated a new stained glass window and marble plaque dedicated to the memory of the late Pope John Paul II on Saturday.

The plaque is a replica of a stone in St. Peter's Square, where the pope was shot three times in 1981. It also features an actual stone from the square itself, donated to the church from the Vatican. Above is the new stained glass window commemorating that day, showing the former pope at the right of an image of the Virgin Mary showering him with light. In the sun, it glints red and blue.

Saturday saw the arrival of Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Washington, to the Henderson Road church. The cardinal had come to bless the new plaque and window, saying that it was divine intervention that saved the pope in 1981.

"We now know it was the motherly hand of Mary ... who protected him on that fateful day of May 13, 1981, in the square of St. Peter's," McCarrick said.

PHOTOSBY ERIC SUCAR staff Clockwise from top- Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Washington Theodore Cardinal McCarrick blesses the new stained-glass window at Saint Augustine of Canterbury Church in Kendall Park. The new stained-glass window surrounding the marble plaque, an exact replica of the one in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The window and plaque are dedicated in honor of Pope John Paul II.

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot at near point-blank range in the abdomen, left hand and right arm by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish prison escapee. The bullets missed his vital organs and doctors were able to save his life. Some time later, the pope met with Agca and forgave him.

According to the Rev. Bob Lynam, a priest at St. Augustine's, having McCarrick bless the new window and plaque was especially appropriate, given that he had been bestowed the title of cardinal by John Paul II himself. Lynam said that the image was chosen for several reasons. First, he noted that the church has several features dedicated to the late pope already - the Good Shepherd Garden right outside and paintings of the rosary called "The Mysteries of Light" - and that the window would be a good way to tie everything together.

Lynam also said that there was an intention to connect May 13, 1981, when the pope was shot, and May 13, 1917, when Mary was said to have appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal.

Plans for the window and plaque started around August of last year and cost the church about $14,000, with funding coming through donations from parishioners. Lynam said that since its installation, people who have seen it have had only positive things to say about it.

"People are just raving about it," Lynam said. "The comments from the people are very positive. [They] felt an almost heavenly experience, a joyful experience, so they felt the spirit, for sure."