By Brian Denitzio
Reporter Staff

Catholics and non-Catholics alike this week celebrated the life and mourned the death of Pope John Paul II. Since his passing on Saturday, those who knew the pontiff, and even those who did not, recalled John Paul II's charisma, an innate quality that crossed all lines of race, creed, and distance.

In recent weeks, Pope John Paul II's health was in steep decline. Already suffering from Parkinson's disease and debilitating arthritis in his hips and legs that left him unable to walk, the pontiff was hospitalized on Jan. 30 for flu-like symptoms and again last month when a respiratory problem led doctors to perform a tracheotomy to allow for easier breathing.

On Easter Sunday, a week before his death, a visibly weak John Paul II blessed the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, but was unable to speak. For the first time since his papacy began in 1978, Easter Mass was celebrated without him.

In the days that followed, the pope's condition deteriorated further. A high fever brought on by septic shock led to multiple organ failure. At week's end his death appeared imminent, and thousands crowded into St. Peter's Square to pray for the pontiff in his final hours. At 9:37 p.m. local time, Pope John Paul II passed away in his private apartment at the Vatican. He was 84.

The first non-Italian to be elected pope in 455 years, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, was the second-longest serving pope in history. At the end of his 26-year tenure, Pope John Paul II was also the most well-traveled pope, visiting 129 countries.

In one of the early trips of his papacy, Pope John Paul II came to Boston, and as part of the trip traveled through Dorchester. Hundreds from Dorchester and surrounding neighborhoods packed the streets and waited in the pouring rain to catch a glimpse of the newly anointed head of the Catholic Church.

In the neighborhood this week those who knew the pontiff personally as well as those who admired the man from a distance recall that charisma and shared their thoughts on his life and legacy.

Frank Doyle and his wife, Maura, had the opportunity to meet the pope a number of times during Doyle's tenure as U.S. Attaché to the Holy See, when he served alongside Ambassador to the Holy See and former Mayor of Boston Ray Flynn.

The walls of the Doyles' Cedar Grove home are adorned with pictures from their time in Rome and from Frank's travels with the Ambassador.

Frank first met the pontiff at Regis University shortly after being assigned to his post in 1993.

"He was warm and personable, I always felt a personal connection," said Frank.

Throughout his time in Rome, Frank and his family had a number of other opportunities to meet with the pope.

Maura recalls one particular meeting during a public audience in St. Peter's Square. She was pregnant with their third child, Matthew, and would soon return home to Boston to give birth. The pontiff learned that Maura was pregnant and returned to her.

"He came back to me and blessed me," said Maura, clerk to the Supreme Judicial Court.

There were thousands in attendance that day, but Maura recalled that everything else went black and all she saw was the Holy Father.

"You knew you were in the presence of someone very, very holy. It's the presence of the Holy Spirit, and it's a moment in time I will never forget," said Maura.

They were lucky enough to meet the pontiff in person, but the Doyles both remember a man whose presence touched those who'd never met him.

"He had a charisma about him that transcended even personal meetings," said Frank.

"He could just drive by on a motorcade and have a profound effect on people," said Maura.

Father George Carigg from St. Christopher's Parish was touched in just that way. He waited in the rain during the pope's visit to Boston in 1979 and caught a glimpse of the pope as his motorcade wound through Dorchester.

"It was a great moment, of bringing together Boston and Dorchester's neighborhoods," said Carigg.

"His visit was a great gift to the city of Boston," said Carigg. "It was during a hard time that the city was having and it brought the city together."

Another pillar of the John Paul II's legacy, many say, is his commitment to young people.

The pope founded World Youth Day in 1986, an annual event for young Catholics. When the event came to Denver in 1993, Frank Doyle and Ambassador Flynn were in attendance and Doyle said that they sought out the Boston contingent. In the sea of more than a million young people from across the world, they found that many were moved to tears merely from being at the event with John Paul II.

Ed Butler said that the pontiff's commitment to the children of the world informs his work as principal of St. Mark's School.

"He was dedicated to youth all over the world," said Butler.

The school will hold a prayer service today, and tomorrow morning, a Mass that is open to the public.

But perhaps more important than the founding of the World Youth Day event was the example the Pope set for people of all ages.

"He preached what he believed, he even forgave his assassin," said Butler, referring to a 1981 attempt on John Paul II's life by Turkish national Mehmet Ali Agca.

On Wednesday morning, as word came from Rome that the College of Cardinals would begin their conclave to determine the next Pope on April 18, students at BC High took part in a memorial service for Pope John Paul II.