Papal Jubilee website inundated with messages

On 16 October John Paul II celebrates his 25th anniversary as Pope. To mark the occasion, Irishman Pat Ryan and his family set up a web site earlier this year, to record the Jubilee celebration Masses planned around the world. Mr Ryan told ICN over the weekend that the site has been inundated with messages. At the latest count the number of parishes taking part was approaching 2,000. Mr Ryan said: "This spiritual bouquet for John Paul has been welcomed all over the world. We have had pledges from 65 countries on all five continents, including Russia, Siberia, China, Indonesia, Tanzania, Iceland and the Solomon Islands. "There have been e-mails from large cathedrals such as Pondicherry to tiny Ashram in Suva - from familiar parishes in Rome and Poland to the less well know missions in the Comoros islands. Participants range from school children to old folk in residential care homes; hospital chapels to defence establishments, seminaries, universities, and religious orders including the Trappists, Carmelites and Poor Clares. "Shrines such as Knock, Aylesford Priory and Banneux will be celebrating Mass for the Pope's jubilee. There have also been pledges from the Byzantine, Maronite and Melkite communities." "Many dioceses have declared their intention to celebrate Pope John Paul's jubilee in every parish." If your parish or community is organising a Jubilee Mass, visit: www.jp2-jubilee.org to ensure that it is recorded in the Spiritual Bouquet. A leather bound presentation folder containing the names of all the participants will be given to Pope John Paul in October.