Harper Woods — “I still feel his hand on my shoulder,” says John Lederman, who with his daughter Mary Elizabeth Lederman had the cherished opportunity to meet the future St. John Paul II in Rome in 1987.

John, former music director at Guardian Angels Parish in Clawson, was in charge of the parish’s 40-person choir during a 10-day pilgrimage in August of that year.

The choir was to sing at several locations, including St. Peter’s Basilica; Sant’Ignazio (St. Ignatius) Church; the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi; and St. Pius X Church, the titular church of the late Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit.

When he visited Rome the year before to prepare for the choir’s pilgrimage, an invitation was extended to his 16-year-old daughter — who was studying ballet in Chicago — and her friend Meredith Dincolo to dance for the pope.

Come August 1987, the 135 people of the Guardian Angels pilgrimage found themselves visiting the many beautiful churches and locations of Italy as they sang with the organist talents of Detroit’s own Norah Duncan IV. The choir performed at St. Pius X Church on Saturday, Aug. 1, and on Sunday gave a concert at Sant’Ignazio while Mary Elizabeth and Meredith danced.

After the choir sang at the Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on Monday, John remembers “they told me I had a call waiting from the Vatican.”

“When I took the call I was informed that we were invited to sing the next morning at the pope’s private Mass at Castel Gandolfo (the pope’s summer residence),” John said. “I didn’t understand how it happened,” he added, but certainly wasn’t going to turn down the invitation.

After Mass, the choir sang a few songs for Pope John Paul II, and the girls danced to “Rejoice the Lord is Near” by Owen Alstott.

While the girls were dancing, “the pope reached up and touched my daughter’s hand, and looks like he’s dancing with her,” John said, showing a photo of the small but endearing interaction.

Afterward, the pope blessed the pilgrims, gave them rosaries, and “sat and talked with us for a while,” Mary Elizabeth said. “He was literally sitting there and talking with us. It sounds ridiculous to say, but he was just so nice.”

Although initially nervous about meeting the pope, Mary Elizabeth said John Paul was “just peace and calmness; no intimidation. There was no doubt in my mind that he was a saint.”

After their visit, Mary Elizabeth informed her father “he’s my Polish grandpa.”

The trip to Italy was truly a blessing, John says, pointing to his lasting friendship with Peter Bahou, who led the pilgrimage through his Peter’s Way travel agency.

John’s wife, who passed away four years ago on April 27, was “100 percent Polish,” which made this year’s canonizations of John Paul and John XXIII especially profound.

John still has all of the photos taken from the visit with St. John Paul II, but one holds a particular significance for him. The photo is of John walking and speaking with John Paul II, and the pope has his arm around John’s shoulder.

“How many people can say they have a picture of a saint with his arm around them?” John asked.