Born in Wadovice, Poland, he is the first Slavic pope and the first non-Italian pope since the time of Adrian VI. In his opening speech of his pontificate he reiterated his desire to carry on the legacy of the Second Vatican Council.
On May 13, 1981, in St. Peter's Square, the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, he was seriously wounded with a gunshot by the Turkish Ali Agca. At the center of his announcement is the Gospel, without discounts. His encyclicals are very important, among which are to be mentioned the "Redemptor hominis", the "Dives in Misericordia", the "Laborem exercens", the "Veritatis splendor" and the "Evangelium vitae". Interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, defense of peace and human dignity are daily commitments of his apostolic and pastoral ministry.
From his numerous trips to the five continents, his passion for the Gospel and for the freedom of peoples emerges. Everywhere messages, impressive liturgies, unforgettable gestures: from the meeting in Assisi with religious leaders from all over the world to prayers at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Thus Karol Wojtyla takes humanity into the third millennium. His beatification took place in Rome on May 1, 2011. Karol Józef Wojty³a, elected Pope on October 16, 1978, was born in Wadowice, a city 50 km from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. He was the second of two sons of Karol Wojty³a and of Emilia Kaczorowska, who died in 1929. Her older brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and her father, an army non-commissioned officer, in 1941. At the age of nine she received her First Communion and at eighteen the sacrament of Confirmation.
After completing his studies in the Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, in 1938 he enrolled in the Jagiellonian University of Krakow. When the Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939, the young Karol worked (1940-1944) in a quarry and, in followed, in the Solvay chemical factory to be able to earn a living and avoid deportation to Germany. Starting from 1942, feeling called to the priesthood, he attended the training courses of the clandestine major seminary of 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", which was also clandestine. After the war, he continued his studies in the newly opened major seminary in Krakow and in the Faculty of Theology of the Jagiellonian University, until his priestly ordination in Krakow on November 1, 1946. Subsequently, he was sent by Cardinal Sapieha to Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in theology (1948), with a thesis on the theme of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. At that time, during his holidays, he exercised his pastoral ministry among Polish emigrants in France, Belgium and Holland. In 1948 he returned to Poland and was coadjutor first in the parish of Niegowiæ, near Krakow, and then in that of San Floriano, in the city. He was university chaplain until 1951, when he resumed his philosophical and theological studies.
In 1953 he presented a thesis on the possibility of founding a Christian ethics starting from Max Scheler's ethical system at the Catholic University of Lublin. Later, he became professor of moral theology and ethics in the major seminary of Krakow and in the Faculty of Theology of Lublin. On July 4, 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed him titular bishop of Ombi and auxiliary of Krakow. He received episcopal ordination on 28 September 1958 in the cathedral of Wawel (Krakow), from the hands of Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak. On 13 January 1964 he was appointed Archbishop of Krakow by Paul VI who created him Cardinal on 26 June 1967. He participated in the Vatican Council II (1962-65) with an important contribution in the drafting of the constitution Gaudium et spes. Cardinal Wojty³a also took part in the 5 assemblies of the Synod of Bishops prior to his pontificate.
He was elected Pope on 16 October 1978 and on 22 October the solemn beginning of his ministry as Universal Pastor of the Church follows. Since the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope John Paul II has made 146 pastoral visits to Italy and, as Bishop of Rome, he visited 317 of the current 332 Roman parishes. There were 104 apostolic journeys around the world - an expression of the constant pastoral solicitude of the Successor of Peter for all the Churches. His main documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions and 45 Apostolic Letters. Five books are also ascribed to Pope John Paul II: “Crossing the threshold of hope” (October 5); “Gift and mystery: on the fiftieth anniversary of my priesthood” (November 1994); “Roman Triptych”, meditations in the form of poetry (March 1996); "Get up, let's go!" (May 2003) and "Memory and Identity" (February 2004). Pope John Paul II celebrated 2005 beatification ceremonies - in which he proclaimed 147 blessed - and 1338 canonizations, for a total of 51 saints. He held 482 consistories, in which he created 9 (+231 in pectore) Cardinals. He also presided over 1 plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals. Since 6 he has called 1978 assemblies of the Synod of Bishops: 15 ordinary general assemblies (6, 1980, 1983, 1987; 1990 and 1994), 2001 extraordinary general assembly (1) and 1985 special assemblies ( 8, 1980, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997 [1998] and 2).
No Pope has met as many people as John Paul II: the Wednesday General Audiences (over 1160) were attended by more than 17 million 600 thousand pilgrims, not counting all the other special audiences and religious ceremonies (more than 8 million pilgrims in the during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000), as well as the millions of faithful met during the pastoral visits in Italy and in the world; numerous governmental figures were also received at the hearing: suffice it to recall the 38 official visits and the other 738 hearings or meetings with Heads of State, as well as the 246 hearings and meetings with Prime Ministers. He died in Rome, in his lodgings in the Vatican City, at 21.37 on Saturday 2 April 2005. The solemn funerals in St. Peter's Square and the burial in the Vatican Grottoes follow on 8 April.
From Santiebeati.it
