A Friend of Medjugorje, the founder of Caritas of Birmingham and the Community of Caritas, attended the Papal Mass in Pope John Paul II’s private chapel on January 30, 1997. Fr. Stanislaus Dziwisz, the Pope’s secretary, asked the founder to read the readings during the Mass. After the Mass, Fr. Dziwisz introduced the founder to the Holy Father and began telling the Holy Father about the work of the founder in regards to Medjugorje. The Holy Father, visibly pleased, reached out to shake the founder’s hand. The founder asked if the Pope would give him a blessing as he knelt down. Pope John Paul II then gave a blessing over the founder in the traditional way, making the Sign of the Cross in the air over him. Fr. Stanislaus continued to speak to the Holy Father, saying that the founder was the head of an organization to spread Medjugorje, called Caritas of Birmingham, and that its publications are distributed around the world. He also relayed that he is a father of six children and has also founded a community of families and single consecrated based in living Our Lady’s messages from Medjugorje. The Pope, who had begun to turn away, after hearing what Fr. Stanislaus was saying, returned back to a Friend of Medjugorje and made the Sign of the Cross on his forehead and then placed his hands on his head in a third blessing. He then gave verbally, a blessing for the founder, one for his family, and lastly, he blessed the community. A Friend of Medjugorje gave the Holy Father a copy of his book, Words from Heaven, the Messages of Our Lady from Medjugorje as a parting gift.
