Blessed John Paul II returning to New Orleans(sort of)

Pope John Paul II exhibit coming to New Orleans next year

Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2012

By Bruce Nolan, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune

New Orleans next year will host a three-month exhibit featuring the personal possessions of Pope John Paul II, the Archdiocese of New Orleans said Tuesday. The church said the exhibit will be in New Orleans from February through April as the first of the touring exhibit’s three stops.

Enlarge The Times-Picayune Pope John Paul II raises the host in the sacred rite of Consecration during a Mass at UNO during his visit in New Orleans in 1987. In the background is Archbishop Phillip Hannan. 1987: Pope John Paul II visits New Orleans gallery (20 photos)

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It moves on to Seattle and Washington D.C.
The church did not disclose the site of the exhibit; it said it would release further details in a news conference Friday.
The now-closed St. Henry church was once discussed as a potential site, but Archbishop Gregory Aymond said in a January interview that site has been taken off the table.
The exhibit, entitled “I Have Come to You Again: Blessed John Paul II,” would portray the life of John Paul in four phases: childhood and adolescence; from laborer to cardinal-archbishop in Poland; his papacy; and the period since his death in 2005.
The archdiocese said the items coming to New Orleans come primarily from the Pope John Paul II center in Krakow, where he was once the cardinal-archbishop, and from the Vatican.
It is sponsored by the National Exhibits Association, a nonprofit based in Lubbock, Texas, dedicated to bringing exhibitions of Vatican or Italian art and artifacts to American viewers.
Its director is the Rev. Malcolm Neyland, a Catholic priest.