10/22/2026
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. John Paul II.
In his Message for the UN Year of Volunteer Work (2001), he spoke directly to volunteers about the dignity and joy of serving others:
“What makes a volunteer dedicate his/her life to others? First of all, the innate movement of the heart that inspires every human being to help his fellow man. It is a law of existence. A volunteer experiences a joy that goes far beyond what he has done when he succeeds in giving himself freely to others.
For this reason, volunteer work is a special factor that contributes to humanization. Thanks to the many forms of solidarity and of service that they promote and make concrete, volunteer workers make society more attentive to the dignity of the human person.”
We give thanks for all volunteers who embody this call in their daily service.