Interpretative Panel

Image: © Anne Burgess Taken: 24 Aug 2013

This is the explanatory panel next to Image The text reads, 'John Paul the Great. From the 31st May - 2nd June 1982 Pope John Paul II came to Scotland to confirm us in our faith. At Murrayfield in Edinburgh he urged the youth of Scotland to place their lives in the hands of Jesus. During his homily in Bellahouston Park he prayed for us: "Lord, let Scotland flourish by the preaching of thy word and the praising of thy name". On the 2nd April 2005, he "returned to the house of the Father". In order to commemorate the Pope who came to us, the Parish Pastoral Committee commissioned sculptor Tom Allan to create this image of John Paul II. He is presented in the latter stages of his pontificate, his witness to Christian suffering clearly evident in his stooped body. He is lost in prayer, holding fast to the crozier which bears the emblem of our Christian faith, the Cross of Jesus Christ. His vestments are blown by the wind, a sign of the Holy Spirit in whose power he shepherded the universal Church. He is stepping forward, the pilgrim Pope. He is facing the Eucharistic Chapel and is next to the Black Madonna, the two great centres of his spiritual life. The base of the statue is rock symbolising that he is the successor to St Peter, the rock on whom the Lord built his Church. Overall the image seeks to express hi pontifical motto "Totus Tuus" (Completely yours). O God, grant that your servant John Paul , whom you made Vicar of Christ and shepherd of your Church, may rejoice forever in the vision of your glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.'

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