Detroit — Christmas ornament designer Curtis Posuniak has fond memories of the time he got to see Pope John Paul II up close during the late pontiff’s 1987 visit to the United States.

“He made you feel so warm. The calmness, the serenity he projected — you just knew the man was very pious,” says Posuniak, who saw the pope when he visited Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco.

“I had a friend who was the organist there, and I felt very honored to be able to be there when Pope John Paul was there,” says Posuniak, who is the organist a St. Patrick Parish in Carleton.

Besises his work in music ministry, Bloomfield Hills resident Posuniak also runs a business, Klassics by Kurtis Inc., that imports Christmas ornaments handmade in Poland to his own designs.

Now in its 15th year of operation, Posuniak’s more than 500 designs have included Pope John Paul II before, but now a new one has been added that specifically celebrates the beatification.

With a photographic image of the beloved pope, enhanced with glitter, on one side of the bulb, it also features the wording — Blessed John Paul II Beatified May 1, 2011 — in both English and Polish on two other sides.

Posuniak brought back the first batch of the new ornaments with him from Poland in late February, and received the first shipment of them in mid-March.

The first Polish pope has been embraced by people the world over, but has a special place in the hearts of Polish people. “I visited the Jasna Gora Shrine in Czestochowa, and in their painted Stations of the Cross they have him standing in the background of the Crucifixion scene holding his distinctive crucifix crozier,” Posuniak says.

Pope John Paul II’s appeal spans not only nations, but generations, he continues.

“People of all ages could relate to him. Younger people, older people — everyone has something good to say about him,” Posuniak adds.