John Paul the Great

Karol J. Wojtyla, or Pope John Paul II. was born in Wadowice, Poland on May 18, 1920. He was the second of the two sons born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska Karol's mother died in 1929, and his brother, a doctor, Edmund died in 1932. and his father in 1941. John Paul experienced great turmoil after all his immediate family members passing away. However, he learned to surrender everything to the Lord and to the Blessed Mother, victimized as they were by the Nazis occupying Poland His spiritual life was nourished by these experiences of trauma, tragedy, suffering, and pain. He entered the seminary in Krakow in 1942, was ordained, and became the head of the Catholic Church from October 16, 1978 to April 2, 2005. John Paul II is recognized as the one who aided the end of Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. He significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion and encouraged Ecumenism; He supported Vatican II reforms, travelled extensively to visit his flock around the world, beatified 1,340 persons, and canonized 483 saints. Deeply prayerful, he introduced to the Church the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary. An apostle of the modern times, he became a witness to the loving and suffering Christ until his death.


My Insight:​