Pope John Paul II Way Change Set for April 6th

It was already announced that New York will rename a stretch of 56th Road at the front entrance of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in the Maspeth section of Queens in his honor.

So that the dedication ceremony does not conflict with the solemn period of Holy Week, Passover and Easter, the unveiling of the street sign at the corner of 56th Road and 61st Street displaying the designation, "Pope John Paul II Way" has now been set for Sunday, April 6th at 3:00 p.m.

Rev. Witold Mroziewski, pastor of Holy Cross Church, is welcoming members of all faiths to participate in this event.

Pope John Paul II, frequently referred to as John Paul the Great, visited the United States seven times during the 27 years he served as the head of the Catholic Church. But he had come here earlier when he was still known as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. He visited several Polish American parishes at the time, Maspeth's Holy Cross being one of them.

The initiative to name a street in honor of Pope John Paul II came from the Polish-Jewish Dialogue Committee sponsored by the Downstate N.Y. Division of the Polish American-Congress and the Jewish Historical Society of Queens.

At the request of the Committee, Maspeth's Community Board #5 headed by Mr. Gary Giordano approved the idea which was then introduced as a bill by Elizabeth Crowley, Maspeth's representative in the New York City Council.

After the City Council passed the bill, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed it into law shortly before his term of office ended on December 31, 2013.

Many Polish Americans still remember John Paul II's visit to New York the year following his election as pope. They can recall his appearances at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium.

One of them firmly stated she was not worried rain might interfere with the street-naming event on April 6th. "When the pope came to Shea Stadium (in Flushing, Queens) it was pouring rain. When the pope began to speak, the rain stopped and the sun was shining."

Frank Milewski