Pope John Paul II went to his grave last week at the age of 84, leaving memories of man who preached his faith all around the word. He was no stranger to Downtown, either, because his international travel included visits to St. Vibiana’s at 2nd Street and Main, which formerly served as the Cathedral for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. A lot of people in Los Angeles probably saw him in their native lands before coming to the U.S., too. In Mexico and other places thousands of people would climb to rooftops just to catch a glimpse of the Pope’s helicopter flying over their towns and villages. The late pontiff served as spiritual leader of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics for nearly 27 years, a period that saw great successes, such as the fall of Iron Curtain and advent of religious freedom in Eastern Europe. Pope John Paul II also saw some disappointments, such as the sexual abuse scandal among some priests here in the U.S. Through it all he remained committed to his duty as he saw it, with an extraordinary ability to communicate in a way that lifted the individual spirits of so many.
The Los Angeles Garment & Citizen is the community newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods, including the Arts District, Chinatown, Echo Park, Little Tokyo, Pico-Union, Silver Lake and Westlake.The Garment & Citizen reaches more than 20,000 readers weekly, an audience that spans the demographic makeup of the city and serves as the leading edge of statewide and national trends.
