Biography of John Paul II
Karol Józef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his election to the papacy in October 1978, was born in Wadowice, a small town 50 kms. from Krakow (Poland), on May 18, 1920. He was the second of the two children of Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska. His mother died in 1929. His older brother Edmund (doctor) died in 1932 and his father (army non-commissioned officer) in 1941.
At the age of 9 he made his First Communion, and at 18 he received Confirmation. After finishing high school at the Marcin Wadowita school in Wadowice, he enrolled in 1938 at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and at a theater school.
When the Nazi occupation forces closed the University, in 1939, the young Karol had to work in a quarry and then in a chemical factory (Solvay), to earn a living and avoid deportation to Germany.
Starting in 1942, feeling the vocation to the priesthood, he followed the training classes of the clandestine seminary in Krakow, directed by the Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. At the same time, he was one of the promoters of the “Rhapsodic Theater”, also clandestine.
After the Second World War, he continued his studies at the newly opened major seminary in Krakow and at the Faculty of Theology of the Jagiellonian University, until his priestly ordination in Krakow on November 1, 1946.
He was then sent by Cardinal Sapieha to Rome, where, under the direction of the French Dominican Garrigou-Lagrange, he received his doctorate in theology in 1948, with a thesis on the subject of faith in the works of Saint John of the Cross. In that period he took advantage of his vacations to exercise the pastoral ministry among the Polish emigrants from France, Belgium and Holland.
In 1948 he returned to Poland, and was vicar in various parishes in Krakow and chaplain to university students until 1951, when he resumed his philosophical and theological studies. In 1953 he presented at the Catholic University of Lublin a thesis entitled “Assessment of the possibility of founding a Catholic ethics on the basis of Max Scheler’s ethical system”. He later became a professor of Moral Theology and Social Ethics at the Krakow Major Seminary and at the Lublin Faculty of Theology.
On July 4, 1958 he was appointed by Pius XII Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow. He received episcopal ordination on September 28, 1958 in the Wawel Cathedral (Krakow), from Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak.
On January 13, 1964, he was appointed Archbishop of Krakow by Paul VI, who made him a cardinal on June 26, 1967.
In addition to participating in the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), with an important contribution in the elaboration of the constitution Gaudium et spes, Cardinal Wojtyla took part in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.
Since the beginning of his pontificate, on October 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II has made 104 pastoral trips outside of Italy, and 146 within this country. Furthermore, as Bishop of Rome he has visited 317 of the 333 Roman parishes.
On May 13, 1981, John Paul II suffered an attack. The Turk Ali Agça shot him in St. Peter’s Square itself. However, he was able to survive and recover after spending time in the hospital. The projectile with which he was injured was set in the crown of the image of Our Lady of Fatima, which presides over the Sanctuary of Cova de Iría. The Pope himself delivered the bullet to Mons. Alberto Cosme, Bishop of Leiría.
Its main documents include: 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions and 45 Apostolic Letters. The Pope has also published five books: “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” (October 1994); “Gift and mystery: on the fiftieth anniversary of my priestly ordination” (November 1996); “Roman Triptych – Meditations”, poetry book (March 2003); “Get up! Come on!” (May 2004) and “Memory and Identity” (2005).
John Paul II has presided over 147 beatification ceremonies -in which he has proclaimed 1,338 blessed- and 51 canonizations, with a total of 482 saints. He has held 9 consistories, during which he has created 231 (+1 in pectore) Cardinals. He has also presided over 6 plenary assemblies of the College of Cardinals.
From 1978 to 2005, the Holy Father has presided over 15 Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops: 6 ordinary (1980, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 2001), 1 extraordinary general (1985), and 8 special (1980, 1991, 1994). , 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999).
No other Pope has met as many people as John Paul II: in figures, more than 17,600,100 pilgrims have participated in the more than 1,160 General Audiences held on Wednesdays. That number does not include the other special audiences and religious ceremonies and the millions of faithful that the pope has encountered during his pastoral visits to Italy and the rest of the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities with whom he has met during the 38 official visits and the 738 audiences or meetings with Heads of State and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
On April 2, 2005, at 9:37 p.m., he passed away in Vatican City. as Saturday concluded, and we had already entered the octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday. From that night until April 8, the day on which the late pontiff’s funeral was held, more than three million pilgrims paid homage to John Paul II, even queuing for 24 hours to gain access to St. Peter’s Basilica.
On April 28, 2005, the Holy Father Benedict XVI waived the five-year waiting time after death to begin the cause of beatification and canonization of John Paul II. The cause was officially opened by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, on June 28, 2005.
John Paul II was beatified by Benedict XVI in Rome on May 1, 2011. Pope Francis canonized him on April 27, 2014.
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