Pope John Paul II Helped Bring Down Berlin Wall, Says Pope Francis

Saint Pope John Paul II played a key role in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism.

This was pointed out by Pope Francis on Sunday as he joined in the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In his Nov. 9 Angelus address in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father noted that although the events leading to the tearing down of the Wall happened fast, it was only made possible "by the long and arduous efforts of many people who fought, prayed and struggled for this, some even to the sacrifice of their lives. These include a leading role by Saint Pope John Paul II."

Constructed in 1961 by the communist German Democratic Republic, the Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier that divided West Berlin from East Germany and East Berlin.

Pope Francis noted that for many years the Berlin Wall had cut the city in two as a sign of the "ideological division" not only of Europe, but of the whole world.

The Wall was built to stop repressed people from East Germany from fleeing to the West at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the then Soviet Union.

A year after the Wall was brought down, Germany – which was split in two following its defeat in World War II – became one nation again.

Pope Francis was not the first to acknowledge the role played by the newly canonized Polish pope in dismantling the communist regimes in Europe.

Even former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev noted that the collapse of the Iron Curtain would have been impossible without John Paul II. Nobel Prize winner and former Polish President Lech Walesa also expressed the same view.

Even as he hailed the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Pope Francis emphasized that there are still many walls that divide the world today. "Wherever there is a wall, there is a closed heart. We need bridges, not walls!" he said.

The Holy Father then prayed that, with God's help, people with goodness in their heart would continue doing their share in bringing down all the walls that still divide the world.

He also prayed that there would be no more killing and persecution of innocent people.

In his address, the pope also noted that Nov. 9 was the feast of the dedication of Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran. The basilica was built under Pope Melchiade in the early 300s and is considered as the oldest Christian church in the world. It now serves as Rome's cathedral.

In Berlin itself, more than a million Germans and people from around the world on Sunday celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A spectacular 15 kilometer-long string of 7,000 illuminated helium balloons traced the length of the concrete barrier. Amid rejoicing from the crowds, the balloons were set free one after another into the night sky to symbolize the breaching of the Wall by crowds of protesters in 1989.