"We miss John Paul II", he’s a Pope "who imparted a new dynamics to many spheres, such as ecumenism, youth and ethics": this is how John Paul II is remembered, one year after his death, by the Swiss bishops, who relive in their memory some highlights of his papacy, including "the two visits to Switzerland that will never be forgotten", in 1984 and 2004. "Everyone remembers the dramatic days of John Paul II’s life write the bishops and the nice moments of his life". To mention just a few, "his ability to attract the young", his "exemplary initiatives for the Jewish", "the defence of religious freedom as a fundamental human right". Amidst the unforgettable images, the Swiss bishops remember "the sport-loving Pope who hurls a child midair and the elderly Pope who cries in the grotto of Lourdes", or again when "he placed on his head a crown of feathers of a chief in Kenya". Mgr. Pierre Bûrcher, auxiliary bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Freiburg, will concelebrate Mass in memory of John Paul II on April 2nd in the Church of Christ the King in Freiburg. Pope Wojtyla will also be commemorated during the Youth Day of Einsiedeln on April 1st and 2nd, which will be attended among others by mgr. Amédée Grab, mgr.Denis Theurillat, mgr.Ivo Fûrer, abbot Martin Werlen and the apostolic nuncio to Switzerland, mgr.Francesco Canalini.
