The Republic: Pope John Paul II will leave behind a legacy which through the establishment of the Second Vatican Council and his own fidelity to the gospel has reflected the image of Christ, according to his former papal secretary and Bishop of Cloyne, Dr John Magee.
Bishop Magee told The Irish Times that the Pope has, "all through his life as a young man, as a priest, as a bishop and then in his 27 years as Pope, reflected the image of Christ and he's done that through the Second Vatican Council and his own fidelity to the gospel."
Bishop Magee - who last met Pope John Paul II in Rome in early December - said the pontiff has no fear of dying and his decision not to be readmitted to hospital but to stay in his quarters in the Vatican was an indication of his serene acceptance that he is about to die.
According to Bishop Magee, who was papal secretary from 1978 until 1982, Pope John Paul II has never been afraid to die though he showed tremendous will to survive following the assassination attempt on his life in Rome in 1981.
"He's always been ready to die. The only time that he told me that he wasn't going to die was immediately after his being shot in 1981 when he turned to me as he was being put into the ambulance," said Bishop Magee.
"He turned to me and he saw that I was very emotionally touched by what had happened - I was very sad and he said, 'John, this is not the death' and he assured me that he was not going to die when most of us thought he was going to.
"Now that he knows that he is coming to the end of his earthly existence, he is looking forward to the reward that is certainly his for having been such a faithful servant of the Lord," Bishop Magee told RTÉ's News at One.
Bishop Magee said the Pope has always recognised the value of Christian suffering when he met the sick, especially on papal visits, and he had expounded on the theme in a papal encyclical, Salvifici Doloris in 1984.
"He was closest to the cross of Christ when he would be touching the broken bodies of the sick and now his own broken body is giving way to the vision of the Lord, the saviour, the risen Christ in this very special week, we are celebrating the octave of Easter, today." Bishop Magee recalled the many times he was with the Pope when he would celebrate the Stations of the Cross on Fridays in the Vatican and such occasions again enabled him to realise "the great value of Christian suffering".
"He's a marvellous witness to the world in this day and age when people oftentimes try to get away from suffering," he said.