Pope John Paul II gives the sign of peace to newly ordained Father Jugis during his ordination Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on June 12, 1983.CHARLOTTE — 20 years ago today, Pope John Paul II passed away. Did you know the Diocese of Charlotte has a special connection to the late pope and saint?
That connection is Bishop Emeritus Peter Jugis, who retired last year after 20 years as our bishop. Pope John Paul II ordained him to the priesthood on June 12, 1983, in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and two decades later, appointed him Bishop of Charlotte.
“Pope John Paul II’s laser focus on Jesus left a long-lasting impression on me,” Bishop Jugis said. “I entered seminary in 1979, the year he published his first encyclical, in which he boldly stated his love for Jesus Christ as ‘the center of the universe and of history. To him go my thoughts and my heart….’ The Pope was focused on Jesus from the very beginning of his pontificate.
His clear focus on the Church’s mission to proclaim Jesus Christ and the salvation Jesus won for all humanity, formed in me the desire as a seminarian and as a priest to keep the focus on Jesus.”
The pope’s devotion to the Eucharist inspired one of our diocese’s signature events, the bishop noted.
“Pope John Paul II’s teaching in his last encyclical on the Holy Eucharist as the ‘center of the Church’s life’ also left a long-lasting impression on me,” Bishop Jugis reflected.
“Pope St. John Paul II is the Pope of the Eucharist. He instituted daily Eucharistic Adoration in St. Peter’s Basilica to serve as a spiritual and prayer support for his many apostolic journeys. As a seminarian I periodically went to pray at Adoration in the Basilica. The Year of the Eucharist, proclaimed by Pope John Paul II, was in full swing during his final year, and this inspired me to propose a Eucharistic Congress for the Diocese of Charlotte, for which I received a lot of great support, and to encourage Eucharistic Adoration in the diocese. Our Eucharistic Congress was born from the Year of the Eucharist.”
Read more: Fourth Bishop of Charlotte: A native Charlottean, ordained by John Paul I