The fourth annual St. John Paul II Feast was celebrated on Friday, Oct. 22, at St. James Catholic Church in Gadsden. The event included a Rosary, a procession with the relic around the grounds of the church, Mass with Bishop Raica, and a meal.

The church is in possession of a first-class relic of St. John Paul II that is kept in a side altar of the church. The relic, a drop of St. John Paul II’s blood, is housed in a reliquary from Poland, which was made available to St. James by His Eminence Cardinal Stanislaus Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland. Bishop Emeritus Robert J. Baker reached out to the cardinal on behalf of Father Jose Chacko, pastor of St. James. Cardinal Dziwisz is the former personal secretary to then Pope John Paul II and was associated with the pope for over 40 years.

 St. John Paul II who was pope from 1978 to 2005. He was born Karol Wojtyla in Poland and was canonized a saint in 2014 by Pope Francis.