Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to support a measure that will establish a national day to honour the late Pope John Paul II.
The lower house, or Sejm, voted 338-3 for the bill that will make Oct. 16 a day of reflection and remembrance of the Polish-born Karol Wojtyla. That date was chosen because he was elected pope on Oct. 16, 1978. Two lawmakers abstained from voting.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve it this week. President Aleksander Kwasniewski is expected to sign it into law.
The annual holiday will be dedicated to remembering and studying John Paul's teachings, but it won't be a government holiday. Banks, schools and government offices will stay open.
John Paul II, who died April 2, was greatly loved and admired in Poland, his predominantly Roman Catholic homeland.
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