Pope John Paul II Medal Silvertone Brass Rim Holy Year 1983 3/4" dia
Pope John Paul
II, born Karol Józef
Wojtyła; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) served
as Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005. He is the
second longest serving pope in history.
Pope John Paul II declared the year 1983 a Holy Year in commemoration of
the 1,950th anniversary of the Year of Redemption - the year Jesus died.
The fifth- or sixth-century painting of ‘the Queen of
Poland’ is one of the world’s oldest portraits of the Virgin and Child. It is
believed to have been painted by St. Luke on the top of a cypress table. Legend
has it that the table, built by St. Joseph, was used by the Holy Family in Nazareth.
It is also believed that Mother Mary sat for the portrait at the request of
early Christians. The icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the BLACK
MADONNA, is enshrined on Jasna Gora (Hill of Light), above the city of
Czestochowa in South Central Poland. The dark coloring on the faces and hands
is characteristic of pictures painted during this period. For centuries the
Polish people have honored Mary the Mother of God and her divine Son in this
holy place
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