Res Humanitariae

Pope John Paul II visited Lithuania on 4–8 September 1993. While visiting and praying at the Hill of Crosses, he said that he was here to reflect with believers on the cross of Christ and the treasures of truth and light that lie within it. The cross reveals ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Cor 1:24), and contains the essence of the Good News, which allows us to understand who God is and who man is. The Holy Father John Paul II gave 15 speeches during his visit to Lithuania. These speeches reveal that the cross is one of the most striking features of John Paul II’s message to Lithuania. Of the 15 speeches, eight mention the cross. The cross is referred to in the Holy Father’s sermon during Mass on the Hill of Crosses 37 times, in the prayers at Antakalnis Cemetery at the tombs of the martyrs of independence in Vilnius (1991) 16 times, in the Holy Father’s address to the clergy, religious and seminarians in the Cathedral of St Stanislaw in Vilnius seven times, at the meeting with young people of Lithuania at the Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas three times, in the sermon during the Liturgy of the Word in Šiluva two times, and once each in the sermon at Mass in Vingis Park, in the speech to the intelligentsia at St John’s Church at Vilnius University, and in the sermon during Mass at Santaka in Kaunas. In total, the cross is mentioned 68 times. This article presents features of the unveiling of the mystery of the cross in Pope John Paul II’s speeches: the cross is a sign of the Christian faith; the cross gives meaning to suffering; the cross is a source of strength; the cross provides atonement; the cross opens the horizons of eternal life; the cross is a sign of resurrection.