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Claire and I went to confession this afternoon. On the way out of the Church, Claire relayed the news to me: the Pope had just died minutes earlier.

Like many others, I'll miss him … and for so many reasons. Yes, he was of Polish heritage, like me. I remember that I was eleven went he started as Pope. At the time it was unheard of that a Pope not be Italian. I remember back then being in awe of the number of languages he spoke. After I got married I learned of his earlier talks on the "Theology of the Body" which was the subject of his Wednesday audiences between '79 and '84. Theologians are still plumbing the depths of those insights, comparing them to the developments of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. I still have many of his encyclicals on my to-do reading list, but among my favorites are the "Gospel of Life" "Splendor of Truth" and "Faith and Reason". His actions over the 26 years are staggering. He beatified more saints than any previous Pope and had a special emphasis on married saints -- reminding us that sanctity does not require celibacy or martyrdom, but is also lived out in the sacrifices of faith filled family life.

I loved him. I'll miss him. Goodbye, Papa. May God welcome you with open arms. I think some day you'll be known as John Paul the Great. His death occured on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday. Somehow it seems even more appropriate. It was one of the devotions which he so promoted!

Let us pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance on those who will choose this great man's successor.

Update: For our homily on Sunday our pastor read this tribute by George Weigel, a biographer of the Pope.

Update #2: Fr. Richard John Neuhaus agrees that someday this Pope will be known as Pope John Paul the Great.

Update #3: George Weigel writes another great retrospective in today's Wall Street Journal (freely available via OpinionJournal)