Pope St John Paul II

Pope St John Paul II (1920-2005)

Today is the Liturgical Feast Day of the beloved Pope St John Paul II. Born May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, he lost his mother at age 9 and his father at 21. In spite of the war, he studied at the Jagellonian University and later at the Krakow Seminary where he was ordained as a priest on November 1, 1946. Karol Wojtyla was made auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958 and was installed as Archbishop of Krakow in 1964 , becoming Cardinal on June 28, 1967.

On October 16, 1978 at age 58, Karol Wojtyla was elected the 264^th Pope and Bishop of Rome. Within a few days, he visited Assisi, the first of 146 trips within Italy. A later visit to a Rome parish marks the start of visits to 317 of Rome’s 333 parishes. His election was a surprise election because his predecessor, Pope John Paul I, died after 33 days into his Papacy, and he was the first non-Italian Pope in almost 400 years. His reign became the third longest in history.

The day Cardinal Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II, October 16, 1978.

During the 27 years of his Pontificate, Pope John Paul II would beatify 1340 holy people, and canonize 483 Saints. He visited 129 countries and travelled 750,000 miles, to reach the millions of people who flocked to see him celebrate Mass, speak to them, or just to get a glimpse of the successor of Peter. He died on April 2, 2005 after 27 years of his Papacy. He will certainly always be remembered as the Great John Paul for helping to exterminate Communism in the Soviet Union and bringing peace to his native Poland, and also for supporting Solidarnosc, the Solidarity Movement that brought peace and harmony among his fellow Polish people. He was very devoted to the Blessed Mother, and in fact his motto was Totus Tuus (Totally Yours,) also becoming a beacon for Life—emphasizing the Gospel of Life while attacking the culture of death.  He was beatified on May 1, 2011 and canonized on April 27, 2014. These are some of the major Encyclicals he wrote: Redemptor Hominis 1979, Dives in Misericordia 1980, Laborem Exercens 1981, Redemptoris Mater 1987, Centesimus Annus 1991, Evangelium Vitae 1995, Ecclesia de Eucharistia 2003.