Saint John Paul II: All you need to know about the former Pontiff

Karol Józef Wojtya, elected Pope on October 16, 1978, was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland.

He was the third of three children born to the late Karol Wojtya and Emilia Kaczorowska. His elder brother, a physician, died in 1932, and his father, a non-commissioned army officer, died in 1941.

Early life

He was nine years old when he received First Communion and eighteen years old when he received Confirmation. In 1938, after finishing secondary school in Wadowice, he enrolled at the Jagellonian University in Krakow.

When the occupying Nazi forces closed the University in 1939, Karol worked (1940-1944) in a quarry and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn a living and to avoid deportation to Germany.

When the occupying Nazi forces closed the University in 1939, Karol worked in a quarry and then at the Solvay chemical factory to make a living and avoid deportation to Germany (1940-1944).

John Paul's tenure as Pope

He was elected Pope on October 16, 1978, and started his ministry as Universal Pastor of the Church on October 22, 1978.

Pope John Paul II made 146 pastoral trips to Italy and visited 317 of the current 322 Roman parishes as Bishop of Rome. His 104 foreign apostolic journeys were expressions of the Successor of Peter's constant pastoral concern for all the Churches.

His principal documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions and 45 Apostolic Letters.

He also wrote 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 in poetry (March 2003); Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way (May 2004) and Memory and Identity (February 2005).

John Paul II presided at 147 beatification ceremonies (1,338 Blesseds proclaimed) and 51 canonization ceremonies (482 Saints) during his pontificate. He held 9 consistories in which he created 231 (+ 1 in pectore) cardinals. He also convened six plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals.

From 1978 to 2005, presided at 15 Synods of Bishops: six ordinary (1980, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 2001), one extraordinary (1985) and eight special (1980, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999).

No other Pope has met as many people as John Paul II: more than 17,600,000 visitors have attended Wednesday General Audiences to date. (more than 1,160).

This number does not include all other special audiences and religious rituals conducted [over 8 million pilgrims alone during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000] or the millions of faithful encountered during pastoral visits in Italy and around the world.

Canonization

Pope John Paul II passed away on April 2, 2005. John Paul II was canonized in 2014, just 9 years after his death. His feast is celebrated on October 22 which is the day on which he was elected Pope.

Published on: Saturday, April 01, 2023, 04:57 PM IST