Pope John Paul II

264^th Pontiff

October 16, 1978 to 9:27 P. M. April 2, 2005

Pope John Paul II's Coat of Arms with the "M" signifying his love for Mary, the Blessed Mother.

Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years since Hadrian VI of Holland (No. 218)

Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice near Cracow, Poland on May 18, 1920.  His father was an army sergeant, and his mother died when he was 9. Karol Jozef Wojtyla had a sister who died before he was born and an older brother who died before adulthood.  (As an adult, Pope John Paul II lamented not having adult siblings.)  Growing up, Pope John Paul II loved athletics and drama, and he dreamt of becoming a writer.

To avoid being sent to a labor camp in Germany when the Nazis invaded Poland during World War II, Pope John Paul II secured a job in a stone quarry and then the Solvay chemical factory while continuing his studies of Polish literature at Jagiellonian University undetected. Ignoring curfews and SS roundups, Pope John Paul II pursued his love of acting by performing secretly in homes. Pope John Paul II was also an expert skier and swimmer, and he canoed the rapids.  He also liked mountain climbing, hiking and kayaking.

After the Soviet liberation of Poland, Pope John Paul II finished his studies in Rome at the Angelicum. As a student, Pope John Paul II's interest was centered around religion, and he had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His personal motto Totus tuus (All thine) was dedicated to Our Lady.  In 1943, Pope John Paul II entered the seminary, and in 1946 he was ordained a priest and became pastor of Saint Florian in Cracow.  On various European missions Pope John Paul II became fluent in 8 languages and could phonetically speak 25 additional languages.

Pope John Paul II became a university professor, Bishop of Cracow at age 38, and titular Archbishop with the ward of Wyszynski and actively participating in the Second Vatican Council.  In 1967 Pope Paul VI named Pope John Paul II a cardinal at age 47 and assigned Saint Cesarius on the Palatine as his titular church.

Pope John Paul II was elected pope on October 16, 1978, and installed on October 22, 1978.  Popes select their names, so to honor Pope John Paul I, whose papacy was short (August 26, 1978 to September 28, 1978), Cardinal Karol Jozef Wojtyla took the name Pope John Paul II.

Five Polish Servants of the Sacred Heart nuns cared for Pope John Paul II from the time he was Bishop Karol Jozef Wojtyla of Krakow:

Sister Tobiana was a physician who assisted the pope's doctor, Renato Buzzonetti

Sister Germana cooked Pope John Paul II's Polish meals - piroshki, cheesecake, fish in aspic, pates, vegetable pies, and carp on Christmas eve. When in school, Pope John Paul II and his classmates treated themselves to kremowki, Polish cream cakes, after exams. "After the final exam in high school, we went there to buy cream cakes. I cannot believe we stomached all those cream cakes after the exams," said Pope John Paul II.

Sister Fernanda kept the pope's pantry stocked with fresh produce and milk from his summer place, Castel Gandolfo

Sister Matylda was in charge of the pope's wardrobe

Sister Eufrosyna handled the pope's private correspondence

On May 13, 1981,* an assassination attempt was made on Pope John Paul II's life by Mehmet Ali Agca.  After being operated on for six hours at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, Pope John Paul II believed Our Lady of Fatima spared him.  [The above photograph shows Pope John Paul II and Mehmet Ali Agca's mother.]

Italy's Mitrokhin Commission led by Senator Paolo Guzzanti concluded that Soviet Union President Leonid Brezhnev ordered the Bulgarian and East German secret agencies to assassinate Pope John Paul II because Pope John Paul II was against communism.  Mehmet Ali Agca attempted the assassination on May 13, 1981.  The inquiry found that Mr. Agca was trained by the Soviet secret service in Yemen.  "We are sure that the secret services of the former Soviet Union have planned the attack against the pope,"  Senator Guzzanti told New Europe Radio.

Pope John Paul II has written a book about the assassination attempt on his life entitled Memory and Identity. According to the British publishers, "He describes the day of the assassination attempt in detail. He found himself suddenly in the presence of death."

Also in his book Memory and Identity, Pope John Paul II said of his visit at Christmas 1983 to Rebibbia prison to see Mehmet Ali Agca:  "We talked for a long time. Ali Agca is, as everyone says, a professional assassin.  Which means that the assassination was not his initiative, that someone else thought of it, someone else gave the order."

In Memory and Identity, Pope John Paul II recalls the assassination attempt: "I had a feeling that I would survive. I was in pain, I had reason to be afraid, but I had this strange feeling of confidence...Oh, my Lord! This was a difficult experience."

On a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, a second assassination attempt was made on Pope John Paul II's life by Father Juan María Fernández y Krohn, a Spanish priest who lunged at the Holy Father with a knife, but missed.  Father Fernández objected to Pope John Paul II's support of the Second Vatican Council and was sentenced to six years in prision after which he was deported from Portugal.  On that visit Pope John Paul II placed one of the 9mm bullets from the first assassination attempt into Our Lady of Fatima's crown.

Researchers have uncovered 21 and possibly 22 attempts on the life of Pope John Paul II between 1978 and 1989.

Who were the greatest security risks to Pope John Paul II?  Italian police say devoted teenagers and young adults who jumped the barricades to touch the pope.  "Any security measures that prevents him from reaching the people - especially the poor, the sick and children - caused him displeasure," said Enrico Marenelli who headed the Italian Vatican squad for 14 years.  "It's impossible."

Pope John Paul II's support for the Solidarity movement in Poland helped defeat communism in Europe. 

Pope John Paul II was a critic of the West's materialism and the excesses of capitalism citing the growing gap between the rich and the poor. 

In 1984 Pope John Paul II was the first pope to visit Canada.

In 1992 Pope John Paul II underwent surgery to remove a benign intestinal tumor, and in 1993 he dislocated his shoulder. In 1994 Pope John Paul II suffered a thigh fracture, in 1996 Pope John Paul II underwent hip surgery, and in 1997 the pope was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The physical after effects of the assasination attempt were permanent.

Opus Dei, the Spanish organization founded by Saint José Moria Escrivá de Balaguer was important to Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II's mission was evangelical - to spread Catholicism to the Third World, particularly Africa and Latin America.  Toward that end he was a songwriter, singer, recording artist,  journalist, film actor and comedian.  Pope John Paul II's favorite movie was Life is Beautiful.  Ecumenical outreach to the Jews was also a mark of his papacy.  Pope John Paul II traveled extensively to achieve his evangelical goals visiting over 120 countires.

Pope John Paul II died on April 2 at 9:27 P. M.  of septic shock and heart failure.  Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, 81, papal doctor since Pope Paul VI, said about Pope John Paul II: "He passed away slowly, amid pain and suffering, which he bore with great human dignity."  Dr. Rodolfo Proietti, Pope John Paul II's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic doctor said about Pope John Paul II: "...no disproportionate means were used."

Polish bishops want Pope John Paul II's heart exhumed and brought to rest at Wawel Cathedral in Cracow, Poland.

Pope John Paul II beatifications

Last Will and Testament et al.

Prayer for asking graces through the intercession of the servant of God, Pope John Paul II

O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit,
to shine through him.

Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints.

Amen

With ecclesiastical approval:
Cardinal Camillo Ruini
The Holy Father's Vicar General
For the Diocese of Rome