Born on May 18, 1920, in the Polish town of Wadowice, Karol Józef Wojtyła, who would later be known as Pope John Paul II, was the youngest of three children. His parents, Karol Wojtyła and Emilia Kaczorowska, suffered the loss of their daughter Olga before Karol Józef was born. Karol Józef’s mother passed away in 1929, his brother Edmund, a physician, died in 1932, and his father, a former non-commissioned military officer, passed away in 1941.

Karol Józef was baptized on June 20, 1920, by Fr. Franciszek Zak at Wadowice’s parish church. He received his First Holy Communion at the age of nine and was confirmed when he was 18. Following his graduation from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, he enrolled at Jagiellonian University in Krakow and also joined a drama school in 1938.

However, the Nazi occupation of Poland in 1939 led to the closure of the university, forcing young Karol to work in a quarry from 1940 to 1944 and later in the Solvay chemical factory to make ends meet and avoid deportation to Germany. In 1942, realizing his calling to priesthood, he began clandestine theological studies in Krakow, conducted by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, the Archbishop of Krakow. During this time, he was also actively involved in the underground Rhapsodic Theatre.

After World War II, Karol continued his theological studies at the re-opened major seminary in Krakow and the Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Theology. He was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Sapieha in Krakow on November 1, 1946.

Post-ordination, Cardinal Sapieha sent him to Rome, where he earned his doctorate in theology under the French Dominican Garrigou-Lagrange in 1948, with a thesis on the subject of faith in St. John of the Cross’ works. During his holidays, he engaged in pastoral work among Polish immigrants in France, Belgium, and Holland.

Upon returning to Poland in 1948, Karol served as a vicar in various Krakow parishes and as a chaplain to university students. He resumed his studies in philosophy and theology in 1951, defending a thesis on the potential of establishing a Catholic ethic based on Max Scheler’s ethical system at Lublin Catholic University in 1953. He later became a professor of moral theology and social ethics at the major seminary in Krakow and at Lublin’s Faculty of Theology.

On July 4, 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed him as the titular bishop of Ombi and auxiliary of Krakow. He was consecrated on September 28, 1958, at Wawel Cathedral, Krakow, by Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak. Pope Paul VI appointed him as the Archbishop of Krakow on January 13, 1964, and later made him a cardinal on June 26, 1967.

Cardinal Wojtyła played a significant role at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and participated in all assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. On October 16, 1978, he was elected Pope, adopting the name John Paul II. His pontificate, lasting nearly 27 years, is one of the longest in Church history.

Pope John Paul II was known for his pastoral care, his openness, and his commitment to dialogue and peace. He conducted 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within, visiting 317 of Rome’s 333 parishes. He met with millions of faithful, as well as numerous world leaders, promoting dialogue with other religions, particularly Judaism.

He initiated the World Youth Days and the World Meetings of Families, encouraging spiritual renewal and emphasizing the importance of holiness. He canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 individuals, highlighting their lives as models of faith. He also expanded the College of Cardinals, reformed the Codes of Canon Law, and published significant Church documents, including 14 Encyclicals.

Pope John Paul II also authored several books, contributing to theological and pastoral dialogue. He passed away on April 2, 2005, and was canonized on April 27, 2014, by Pope Francis, in a ceremony also attended by Pope Benedict XVI. His influence and legacy continue to shape the Catholic Church and the wider world today.

Editorial credit: daily_creativity / Shutterstock.com
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36 COMMENTS

  10. With your contribution to the church the faithful have grown stronger and have shown love to the family well being, please prays for us the Holy Father.

  11. With your contribution to the church the faithful have grown stronger and have shown love to the family well being, please prays for us the Holy Father.
    Bush Miranda

  12. Thank you for all that you have done for us in this world. Please Blessed Pope John Paul II, continue praying for us and interceed to the Father and present to him our prayer. I want to especially Thank You for visiting our little Island of Guam in February of 1981, thank you so much for blessing us and gracing us with your presence, you are trully a Pope for all people, coming to see your flock even in distant lands… rest now from your labors for your good deeds go before you and will forever be in the hearts of the faithfull…

  14. what a truly blessed man! he was the most single influencial man in the church that brought people to the heart. even if you weren’t catholic,he made you feel his deep love and devotion to Mary and the church. he is truly an inspiring figure and will be the greatest Pope the world has ever known. Truly a wonderful man!

  17. I was lucky enough to see you in Rome, even though I was not a catholic at that time. You were my inspiration. Please pray for me and my family.

  18. Your powers still manifest even after your death. The church and the world still need your intercession. Oh the wonderful saint pray for us.

  19. I was so fortunate to be able to go to Rome in 1998 and was so happy to see you from a great distance as I sat in a Globus Tour bus. Saint John Paul ll please interceed to the father for us . Please pray for me, my family and for all of us. Thank you for your good deeds that you have done. You will never be forgotten and will forever be in our hearts.
    Brenda DiPilato

  20. Dearest Papa,you are an epitome of love,mercy, blessing n favour to this generation.Thank you so much for your good works.I love you so much.

  25. Saint Pope John Paul 11, please intercede on behalf of all of us that are suffering both physically and mentally. Help us carry our cross until God answers our prayers.

  32. Pope Saint John Paul 2, please pray fo me Pascale Andrée Joseph. Please pray for my mother Marie Françoise Faustin Joseph and my father André Joseph. Pope Saint John Paul 2, please pray GOD to bless me Pascale Andrée Joseph with health and money. Please pray GOD to bless my mother Marie Françoise Faustin with health, with a visa America (United States) and with money. Please pray GOD to bless Machenson Pierre-Louis with health, with jobs and with money. Pope Saint John Paul 2, please pray GOD to bring Francis Concite to me Pascale Andrée Joseph. Please pray GOD to divide Gertha the Sister of Francis Concite with the wife of Francis Concite. Pope Saint John Paul 2, please pray GOD to divide Gertrude Delfils the niece of Francis Concite with the wife of Francis Concite. Pope Saint John Paul 2, please pray GOD to divide all the family of Francis Concite with the wife of Francis Concite. Pope Saint John Paul 2, please pray GOD to divide Francis Concite with his wife. Pope Saint John Paul bring all the family of Francis Concite to me.

  35. Thank you Dearest John Paul for your serving heart. We love you and ask as my Patron saint that you continue praying on our behalf. We especially need your intercession on behalf of the unborn and for people to identify with the gender they are born with. We ask this in Jesus name Amen.

  36. Dearest Saint Pope John Paul II, thank you for your life, and faithful testimony to Jesus Christ, for your trust in the Lord, for your meekness in the Lord, for courage, endurance, sacrifice, hope. Please, pray for me, I need your help, with forgiveness, you did it, you showed us supernatural mercy in the natural world. Help me, please, the bitterness doesn’t heal regardless of how much I truthfully will to release everything and everyone to the Lord, I want to be free to love Jesus wholly, and I repeat to myself that as a child of God not only have I been forgiven but made able and ready to forgive, through the Victory of Jesus at the Cross, and I feel safe in taking all of it and placing it lovingly at the foot of the Cross, with Mother Mary, I believe I do, let go, sincerely, but then the hurt comes back stronger, and strikes fiercely, and persecutes me, and worsens as if the wounds were infected, and causes more spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical damage. I am in excruciating pain. I pray. I confess. I do penance. I will not give up. I trust Jesus. He knows everything. I trust His Saints. I trust you. Please John Paul II, help me, I ask for your most holy intercession, please help me receive the grace of true forgiveness in fullness of spirit, mind, heart, and body, with thanksgiving and praise to God, that I can pray the Our Father without feeling I betray and add injury to Our Redeemer every time I say it. Help me obtain the heavenly gift to forgive in the authority of Christ, I want a clean heart for Jesus. Thank you, beloved Saint.

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