Today, October 22, is the feast day of Pope Saint John Paul II, marking his installation Mass in 1978 as the new Bishop of Rome. John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope elected in more than four centuries; and he served as Pope from October 16, 1978 until his death on April 2, 2005.

Known for his love of people, compassion, courage, and spiritual insight, Pope Saint John Paul II is remembered for his remarkable way of encouraging all people in their faith, wherever they were in their journeys. Here are some words from his homily in St. Peter’s Square, during his inaugural Mass:

“‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ (Matthew 16: 16) These words were spoken by Simon [Peter], son of Jonah, in the district of Caesarea Philippi. Yes, he [Peter] spoke them with his own tongue, with a deeply lived and experienced conviction — but it is not in him that they find their source, their origin: ‘… because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but My Father in heaven.'” (Matthew 16: 17) They were the words of faith …

” … All of you who are still seeking God, all of you who already have the inestimable good fortune to believe, and also you who are tormented by doubt: please listen once again, today in this sacred place, to the words uttered by Simon Peter. In those words is the faith of the Church. In those same words is the new truth, indeed, the ultimate and definitive truth about man: the son of the Living God — ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.'”1

Pope Saint John Paul II guided us with the most loving care while he was with us in this world. He is also remembered today for his deep and unwavering conviction that Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life:

“Only in Christ can men and women find answers to the ultimate questions that trouble them. Only in Christ can they fully understand their dignity as persons created and loved by God. Jesus Christ is ‘the only Son from the Father…full of grace and truth.’”2 (John 1: 14)

May your hearts be filled with Jesus on this inspiring feast day.

1John Paul II. Homily of His Holiness John Paul II for the Inauguration of His Pontificate. The Holy See. October 22, 1978.

2John Paul II. World Youth Day, 1993. Denver, Colorado.

Photograph of Pope Saint John Paul II is courtesy of the Hulton Archive/Getty Images.