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The “New Birth of Freedom” Exhibit Celebrates America

The “New Birth of Freedom” Exhibit Celebrates America

Last updated on: June 25, 2026 at 9:11 am by Dennis McIntyre

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The “New Birth of Freedom” Exhibit Celebrates America 2026-06-25T09:11:10-04:00 Dennis McIntyre

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The “New Birth of Freedom” exhibit at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine celebrates America through the Pope’s messages – image courtesy of the JP II National Shrine.

The Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., now hosts a special exhibit called “A New Birth of Freedom.” This exhibit connects John Paul II’s messages on faith and freedom with American history. It shows how John Paul II spoke about freedom, human dignity, and the founding ideas of the United States. The exhibit celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and invites visitors to think about what freedom means today.

Who Was St. John Paul II?

Born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice, Poland, John Paul II served as the Pope and head of the Catholic Church from October 1978 until his death in April 2005. John Paul II was a monumental figure of the 20th century, leaving a legacy that extended far beyond the walls of the Vatican:

He became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years when he was elected in 1978, and at age 58, he was the youngest pope elected in the 20th century.
He lived through both the Nazi occupation and subsequent Soviet communist rule in Poland. These experiences formed him as a fierce defender of human rights and religious freedom.
Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Poland sparked the Solidarity movement, which ultimately led to the peaceful fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
His homily in Victory Square included the words that became the rallying cry of the Solidarity movement: “Let Your Spirit descend and renew the face of the earth! The face of this land!”
He was one of the most traveled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his 26-year pontificate (the third-longest in history). John Paul II visited the U.S. seven times as Pope, for a total of eight visits (one visit was before he was elected Pope).

John Paul II’s deep spirituality, his incredible communication skills, and his fierce defense of human rights transcended his role as Pope to reach millions of people regardless of their faith.

The Saint John Paul II National Shrine

The shrine originally opened as the John Paul II Cultural Center in March of 2001. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops designated the site as a National Shrine on April 27, 2014. Pope Francis canonized St. John Paul II on the same day. The website describes the shrine as:

“a place of worship, religious formation, and cultural renewal to feed the minds and souls of its visitors. It is a place of pilgrimage with a first-class relic of St. John Paul II’s blood available for veneration.”

The shrine is designed as a place of pilgrimage, prayer, and cultural dialogue.

The New Birth of Freedom Exhibit

The St. John Paul II’s “New Birth of Freedom” exhibit celebrates America’s 250th anniversary through the eyes of John Paul II – image courtesy of the JP II National Shrine.

The “New Birth of Freedom” exhibit is a temporary display at the shrine through the summer. It focuses on John Paul II’s reflections on the founding principles of the United States. The exhibit includes photos, artifacts, and memorabilia from his visits to America. It also features items from many museums and dioceses across the country. Visitors can read his words, hear his voice, and see objects connected to his travels.

Key artifacts include gifts presented to John Paul II by U.S. presidents, a chair from the Catholic University of America (CUA) Provost’s office that he sat in during his 1979 visit, vinyl records of his speeches, papal pennants, pins, and pope masks.

This exhibit highlights ideas such as freedom, truth, and human dignity. It shows how John Paul II praised the values in America’s founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The title “New Birth of Freedom” comes from Abraham Lincoln. The exhibit uses this phrase to call Americans to renew their commitment to freedom and justice today.

In preparation for this article, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stephen White, the new Executive Director of the Shrine. Mr. White’s connection to John Paul II spans more than 20 years, beginning at a think tank with biographer George Weigel, then seven years at Catholic University, before joining the Shrine. The main points of our discussion are as follows.

What Compelled You to Join the Shrine?

“When I first moved to Washington, D.C., just a year after college, I got a job working at a think tank, so religion and politics were my game. I worked with George Weigel, a biographer of Pope John Paul II, and I learned a great deal about the Pope from him. Every summer beginning in 2006, I’ve been traveling to Poland with him for a seminar on Catholic social teaching. So this year, I’ll be going again. For more than 20 years, we’ve been teaching together on Catholic social teaching, with a focus on the thoughts of Pope John Paul II. I worked for seven wonderful years at the Catholic Project at Catholic University. When this job became available, it was a chance to come home, back to a John Paul II world, which is where I got my start professionally. ”

Mr. White’s Love for John Paul II

Pope John Paul II speaking with the U.S. Capitol in the background – image courtesy of the JP II National Shrine

“I spend my days inviting people to meet John Paul II, and, hopefully, through him, to meet our Lord. I’m on the younger end of the people who remember him well from when he was alive. There’s so much in his legacy; in his magisterial legacy, in his intellectual legacy, that is relevant to today’s world.

His example of holiness is the most compelling thing about him. That’s why he’s a saint, because he showed me what it means to be transparent to Christ. By conforming himself to God, he became more himself and was able to show, through his writings, on television, and to those of us who had the chance to meet him in person, that we could learn something about our Lord. That’s the goal of every disciple, in a way. Mary did it perfectly. My soul magnifies the glory of the Lord, right? That’s the perfect example of that.”

How Did the New Exhibit Come About?

“First of all, the credit really goes to the team, our mission and ministry team led by Grattan Brown, who first conceived of this before I was even part of the shrine and then spent months planning it out, drafting different schemas for how the exhibit might go. It began with the thought that the Pope visited this country eight times, seven times as Pope.

On the occasion of the Bicentennial, John Paul II spoke generally about America, but specifically about the American founding. That’s the big anniversary this year, 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. And it turns out he had a lot to say, with many considered thoughts on America, both as the great gift of freedom and as a kind of responsibility. In this experiment of ordered freedom, we may take this for granted as Americans.”

John Paul’s Message of Freedom

“Pope John Paul II’s 1987 trip, and he’s leaving Detroit, and he has this reflection on America the Beautiful. And he says, ‘Yes, America, you are beautiful, you are beautiful indeed, you’re blessed in so many different ways,’ and he lists a lot of ways that America is blessed, drawing on the song. He said, ‘Your greatest duty and your richest blessing is found in the human person,’ and he goes on to say that the dignity of America, and I’m quoting here, ‘the reason she exists, the condition for her survival, yes, the ultimate test of her greatness, to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn.'”

It’s this idea that freedom is a test. Can human beings live in freedom well? The reason that America exists and the condition for her survival is how well we use our freedom. Not in a selfish way, not to lord it over others, but in a selfless way. To make the lives of others better, to defend the defenseless from the unborn on up.”

What Might John Paul II Say About America Being Founded on Christian Principles?

“It was John Adams who said that our Constitution was designed for a moral and religious people, and it is wholly inadequate for any other. That is parallel to what John Paul II would say: that it wasn’t explicitly founded on Christian principles, but was founded so that Christian principles could infuse society with an understanding of the human person and human freedom that would allow real flourishing, that America’s founding embodies a certain idea of freedom that’s rooted in natural law.”

What Spiritual Gift Would You Want People to Take With Them from the Exhibit?

“How we use our freedom matters. It matters for our own spiritual life. Whether we will use it selfishly or selflessly is the difference between virtue and vice. I hope people will take away a sense of goodness and gratitude. I’ve always thrown in the caveat that this is not a perfect country. Our history is not without blemish, but it’s hard to love something without being grateful for it, so I think the place to begin is gratitude. Gratitude for all the good that we have, imperfect though it may be.”

The exhibit has been extended through the summer, and I hope people get the chance to visit during our 250th celebration as a country.

Please share your thoughts or any questions about this article in the “Comments” section below.

If you have seen the exhibit, please share your experience in the “Comments.”

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Peace

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About Dennis McIntyre

In my early years, I was a member of the Methodist church, where I was baptized as a child and eventually became a lector. I always felt very faith-filled, but something was missing. My wife is Catholic, and my children were baptized as Catholics, which helped me find what I was looking for. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, walking with Jesus. I was welcomed into the Catholic faith and received the sacraments as a full member of the Catholic Church in 2004. I am a Spiritual Director and commissioned to lead directees through the 19th Annotation. I am very active in ministry, serving as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister and providing spiritual direction. I have spent time working with the sick and terminally ill in local hospitals and hospice care centers, and I have found these ministries challenging and extremely rewarding. In addition to publishing articles on Patheos, I have also published articles on Beliefnet.com. You can read more about the author here.

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