The radio commentator eagerly shared the news in June 1979 about Pope John Paul II returning to his native Poland, a land where people had known suffering for generations.
“For 40 years, the Polish people have lived first under the Nazis and then the Soviets,” he said. “The voices behind those tanks and guns have told them there is no God. Now with the eyes of all the world on them, they have looked past those menacing weapons and listened to the voice of one man who has told them there is a God and it is their inalienable right to freely worship that God. … Perhaps that one man, the son of simple farm folks, has made us aware that the world is crying out for a spiritual revival and leadership.”
Less than two years later, the private citizen who spoke those words would join the pontiff on the world stage. His name was Ronald Reagan.
Their unique partnership is worth reexamining as the world struggles with a pandemic during the 100th anniversary of John Paul’s birth in May 1920.
The two made an improbable pair, but the president and the pope were central players in the key drama of the 20th century’s final quarter. Their unshakable ideas about freedom and the ability to articulate those concepts well helped to hasten the downfall of the Iron Curtain and change the course of history.
Despite different backgrounds, they had much in common. Each was a great communicator. Decades before his papacy, a young Karol Jozef Wojtyla studied acting and exhibited talent as a writer. Long before entering the Oval Office, Reagan established himself as a Hollywood star and later as an after-dinner speaker before corporate audiences. In the 1970s, Reagan also wrote and delivered hundreds of radio addresses on important issues.
Even after ascending to power, they confronted similar horrors. In spring 1981, both narrowly survived horrible gunshot wounds. Each openly forgave his would-be assassin.
Their remarkable recoveries inspired people around the globe and fueled a strong belief that each leader had been saved for a specific reason. Reagan credited the almighty for being spared and pledged his allegiance.
“I have decided that whatever time I have left is for him,” Reagan told New York’s Cardinal Terence Cooke.
The president and the pope used their extra time wisely — one reviving a nation, the other inspiring a church and his homeland. But as individuals, they performed another valuable service for tens of millions. Focusing on a “culture of life” and its numerous blessings, each gave us a window to the aging process and the intense suffering that sometimes occurs in a person’s final years.
Rather than hide their problems, both shared them for all to see. The pope continued a grueling schedule and traveled to many foreign lands despite numerous disabilities.
“Man owes to suffering that unselfish love which stirs in his heart and actions,” John Paul once wrote. The ailing pontiff’s actions stirred the world as he carried the burden of pain with gallantry.
Reagan did the same. In November 1994, he wrote a poignant letter discussing the onset of Alzheimer’s and accurately predicted that the journey would take him into the sunset of his life.
“When the Lord calls me home,” Reagan wrote, “whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.”
Those upbeat words echo the sentiment in the fifth chapter of Romans: “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Reagan died in 2004, and John Paul died a year later. Through their perseverance, both left us with legacies of hope. By facing their afflictions with courage and determination, these leaders speak volumes to us even today. Rather than give up as their minds and bodies ebbed away, they pressed forward with dignity and purpose, never denying the pain that surrounded them.
As our world confronts an invisible and deadly enemy in COVID-19, we should follow their example. Despite great suffering, we need individual perseverance, strong leadership, and spiritual renewal more than ever. The survival of our civilization depends on it.
Kendall Wingrove is a freelance writer from Okemos, Michigan.
