A new liturgical memorial — Oct. 22 — has been approved for Blessed John Paul II by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. The U.S. Conference for Catholic Bishops announced Oct. 19 that the congregation had approved the “optional memorial” for the late pope in the calendar for U.S. dioceses. The U.S. bishops last November approved the date for the memorial, which is the anniversary of his inauguration as pope in 1978. The Vatican congregation’s approval was the final step to inclusion of the celebration in the liturgical calendar in the United States. An earlier decree of the congregation had approved the celebration of a Mass of thanksgiving for Blessed John Paul during the year following his May 11, 2011, beatification, at the designation of the diocesan bishop.
Blessed John Paul II