WASHINGTON (CNS) — Singer Grace Griffith knew what Pope John Paul II was going through once he became afflicted with Parkinson’s disease.

Griffith, 54, received her own diagnosis of Parkinson’s in 1998. Her brother had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1992. Moreover, when not paying the bills with her music, Griffith was a physical therapist and had worked with Parkinson’s patients.

“The first thing I felt was pity and sympathy” for Pope John Paul, said Griffith in a Nov. 8 telephone interview with Catholic News Service from her home in Accokeek, Md. “It’s not as easy thing to deal with and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

She added, “In a way, I was grateful that he was in a position — a public position, very public — and he chose to continue that as long as he could. A lot of times when you have Parkinson’s, it’s easy to drop out. Him having the spiritual strength and resources and people to help him around helps, but he also had to be a fairly courageous person to soldier on as he did.

“So the first one (feeling) was sorry and the second one, honestly, was admiration,” she added. Griffith, one of 10 children, had 12 years of Catholic education. When she was growing up, her parents invited Jesuit seminarians from Georgetown University to have dinner with the family.

She has received multiple Wammies from the Washington Area Music Association for her folk and Celtic music and has performed on the global stage.