“We decided it was necessary to write his story, at least some of it, and we started with the children,” Lewis explained. The coloring book further distilled the story of the saint. John Paul II at different times in his life: when he was a young man when he visited the wailing wall in Jerusalem praying with the man who tried to assassinate him in prison, and other scenes. Henley explained she was able to experience that emotion as she researched and wrote the late pope's story for the coloring book. Even if you weren’t Catholic, you saw it, and it touched you.” And it was something very, very special to see. “He was the first pope that I saw boldly and unapologetically evangelize the whole world. “It was like yesterday I remember him … he was like a whirlwind wherever he went he was larger than life,” Henley recalled, her voice trembling with emotion. He got to running with God’s word, and in his lifetime as pope, he visited 129 different countries, and he touched the lives of so many, as well as my own.” “After he was elected pope, he got to running. “Pope John Paul II, he was different,” Lewis explained. Lewis and Henley have co-authored several historical coloring books, including one featuring Aretha Franklin and one featuring former President Barack Obama.Īlthough Lewis is not Catholic, he said he has long admired Pope John Paul II and was present when the pope came to visit the then-primarily Polish Hamtramck in September 1987. John Paul II coloring book, distributing signed copies for the children in attendance. In addition to unveiling the painting, Lewis’s wife, author Cynthia Henley, debuted a St.

Andrew Kowalczyk, CSMA, who is originally from Poland.

The unveiling took place following all-school Mass with Fr. The beloved pope was beatified on May 1, 2011, and canonized on April 27, 2014. Pope John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła, became the first Polish pope in 1978 until his death in 2005. Pope John Paul II, his name is definitely worth remembering.” “You know they say that the greatest legacy that a man can leave behind to the world is an honorable name worth remembering. “Today, we are here to honor a man who has become a saint,” Lewis told the gathered schoolchildren April 27. John Paul II’s canonization with the unveiling of a mural of the late pope made by local artist Curtis Lewis titled “Saint.” Clare of Montefalco Catholic School celebrated the ninth anniversary of Pope St. Curtis Lewis' new painting, 'Saint,' along with companion coloring book, inspires kids to honor 'a name worth remembering'

Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen