Polish, ‘JP2’ influence is strong
New Bishop Szkredka: Polish, ‘JP2’ influence is strong
Poland is practically on the other side of the world from California.
But for a few moments, lying face-down on the floor during his episcopal Ordination Mass Sept. 26, Bishop Slawomir’s Szkredka’s homeland suddenly felt a lot closer as the names of a few fellow countrymen rang out inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
St. Stanislaus, pray for us. St. John Paul the Second, pray for us. St. Faustina Kowalska, pray for us.
The saints Szkredka chose to add to the ordination rite’s traditional Litany of the Saints were reminders of the rich heritage of faith he inherited.
The most recent of the three was John Paul, whose 26 years as pope spanned Szkredka’s late childhood to his first years of priesthood. One of his most cherished memories as a seminarian was serving at a Mass during one of his trips to Poland in the late 1990s.