The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Dr Sean Brady celebrated Mass in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, this morning to mark the first anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.
Special masses are being celebrated at churches and cathedrals around the world to mark the anniversary.
In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the legacy and final days of suffering of Pope John Paul II on the first anniversary of his death today, saying the late pope lived out until the very end his mission to guide the Catholic Church.
"John Paul II died as he always lived, animated by the indomitable courage of faith, abandoning himself to God and entrusting himself to holy Mary," Benedict said in his weekly Sunday address.
He spoke to tens of thousands of people who packed St Peter's Square, many of them toting the red and white flags of John Paul's native Poland who travelled to Rome for the Vatican's anniversary commemorations.
The anniversary culminates tonight with a prayer vigil in the square to mark the exact time of John Paul's passing at 9:37pm. City officials said they expected between 100,000 and 150,000 to attend, about 10,000 of them Poles.
During the noontime prayer, Benedict recalled the last days of John Paul's life, which fell during the church's Holy Week commemorations, when the faithful meditate on the final days of Jesus' life and his resurrection.
Benedict recalled how John Paul was only able to watch the Good Friday procession which retraces Jesus' crucifixion on television, and then couldn't speak when he tried to deliver his Easter blessing two days later.
"We will never forget that blessing," Benedict said. "It was the most pained and moving blessing, which left us with the extreme testimony of his will to complete his ministry until the end." Benedict said John Paul will be most remembered for one of his first messages, delivered in St Peter's on October 22, 1978, days after he was elected pope.
During that message, John Paul told the faithful "Open, indeed throw open wide the doors to Christ!" Benedict said that appeal had embodied John Paul's entire, 26-year pontificate - particularly during his many travels.
"In the final years, the Lord gradually stripped him of everything," Benedict said. "And when he could no longer travel, and then could no longer walk, and finally could no longer speak, his announcement was reduced to the essential: the gift of himself until the very end."
During Sunday night's vigil, selections from John Paul's writings - his poetry, books and homilies - will be read out to the faithful, interspersed with prayers, Gospel readings and hymns. Benedict is to address the crowd at the exact time of death - a message that is to be broadcast via videolink live in Krakow, Poland, where John Paul was once archbishop.