1,000 Piece Toy Soldier Mosaic of St. John Paul II

The Blessed Mother is seen at the foot of her Son's cross. St. Longinus, whose massive statue towers over pilgrims in the Vatican is also seen with a half blue (water) half red (blood) sword. He was the roman soldier who pierced Christ's side and was healed of an eye malady and converted on the spot. 

The beautiful radiating colored soldiers represent the 129 nations JPII visited during his pontificate, more than all previous Popes combined. They all face the culture of death, evangelizing. Many of the colored soldiers are doing manual labor, a nod to JPII’s forced work in the quarry. 

JPII flipped canoes to celebrate Mass when he would take groups in the wilderness. His closest friends from University called him Wujek “Uncle” because it was not safe to call him “Father” in public. 

In the assassination attempt, three 9mm bullets were shot at JPII from point blank range in Vatican Square. One bullet covered in blood signifying the round that struck him, two others on either side. He visited Mehmet Ali Ağcain prison, heard his confession, and Mehmet converted to Catholicism. 

Crowd cheers from Denver WYD 1993 caused enough turbulence for the helicopter pilot's instruments to detect which made it difficult to land. The Colorado flag is painted on the side. 

JPII was hit by a Nazi work truck when he was a young boy and nearly killed.  

 More people saw JPII in person than any other person in human history. Roughly 500,000,000 people over his life. His iconic Scorzelli cross rises out of the tallest mountain peak.

 It was so cold that he used to apply a thick layer of petroleum jelly on his face during work at the quarry where it got below -20 degrees.

The foliage coloring matches the liturgical Priestly vestments going clockwise. Most of the piece is green for Ordinary Time. You can see two areas of purple flowers for Advent and Lent, and finally, gold and white for Pentecost. 

Jesus is standing outside of his tomb. The rock is moved upwards against gravity signifying God's power. There is a small sign that reads “The Way” written in blood that points at Jesus. The yellow flowers on top of the tomb create a halo. And the three cherry blossoms represent the Holy Trinity as do the three peaks on the mountain. 

The bench is a nod to one of Johnny's favorite scenes of his favorite movie Good Will Hunting where Sean says, “I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. I bet you’ve never stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling…” to Will Hunting on a bench in Boston. JPII had extraordinary knowledge and experience, he is both Sean and Will. 

 There are 12 different kinds of trees and plants to represent the twelve Apostles.

JPII was famous for sneaking out of the Vatican to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes, skiing. Others said it was “unbecoming” to engage in such activities. As a Cardinal, JPII said, “it is unbecoming of a Cardinal to ski badly.”

Communist spies knew many things about his life, including what size underwear he wore. They said, “He is not a materialistic man,” when they discovered that he wore tattered undergarments until they were no longer wearable. JPII refused to buy new material goods.

The grey and silver soldiers represent the first miracle of the healing of a woman with Parkinson’s disease. Gray and silver are the colors for the illness.

The second miracle of Floribeth Beth Mora of a cerebral aneurysm happened on May 1, 2011. 

JPII's assassination attempt was on May 13, 1983 the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. When the doctors removed the bullet he visited Fatima to thank Our Lady for interceding for his life and brought the bullet with him. When JPII saw the Fatima crown (created in 1942 by Lisbon jeweler) he noticed a spot where the 9mm bullet fit perfectly without any adhesive. JPII said, “One hand shot the bullet, another redirected it.”

In his pontificate, JPII wrote more than the length of 20 bibles of published text. That is about 36,000 pages...

The Council of Trent agreed to hire a new artist to cover up nudity in Michelangelo’s last judgement. JPII ordered them to be removed because, “the naked human body is not inherently an occasion for lust, but the way it is presented and received determines its moral character.”

JPII traveled a total of 775,000 miles which is the distance from Earth to the Moon…3 times or 31 trips around the Earth.

Communists always had him "bugged". JPII, however, was actually aware of this and chose to whisper when saying important information. 

JPII was gifted with the ability to have split concentration. He was able to fully engage in conversation with someone in his native tongue while reading a book in a different language. He would get tired very easily if he wasn't doing multiple tasks at once, this helped him stay sharp. JPII was also the first Polish Pope. 

JPII was described as a “volcano of energy” and would often work 12-16 hour days. 

JPII was the first Pope to enter a mosque. This showed his dedication to reaching people of all different faiths. “To befriend a stranger, you must enter their home.”