| Full
Name |
His Holiness John Paul II |
| Birth
Name |
Karol Joseph Wojtyla |
| Nick
Name |
Lolek |
| Profession |
Pontiff |
| Date
of birth |
May 18, 1920, |
| Place
of birth |
Wadowice,(Kraków), Poland |
| Baptized
by |
military chaplain P. Franciszek Zak. |
| Height |
5'
10 1/2" |
| Family |
Father - Karol Wojtyla-Tailor- administrative officer
Emilia Kaczorowska-mother-
School teacher (Lithuanian descent)
Brother- Edmund Wojtyla-
physician
|
| School |
Marcin Wadowita high
school in Wadowice
|
| Education |
Jagiellonian,
University
Angelicum University.
|
| Doctorates |
doctorate in theology -
His thesis on faith in the writings of John of the Cross
doctorate in philosophy
- His studies in the phenomenology of Max Scheler
|
| Languages |
Fluent in 8 languages including German, Latin and Greek
|
| Like
to read |
philosophy, history, sociology - all in the original languages.
serious fiction and
poetry
|
| Favourite
Poet |
poet Rainer Maria Rilke |
| Lost
his dear ones |
Mother - when he
was nine
Brother - when he was
twelve
Father - When he
was twenty one
|
| Television |
occasionally
watches soccer matches. |
| Enjoyed |
He enjoyed playing soccer as a goalie and took daredevil swims in a flooded Swaka
River and also hiking, skiing, backpacking, and kayaking. |
| Childhood
dream |
to
study literature and become a professional actor. |
| During
Nazi occupation |
- Worked as a stonecutter
in a quarry at Zakrzówek, Kraków, to support himself and to hold the work permit he needed to avoid deportation or imprisonment.
- Was active in the UNIA, a Christian democratic underground organization
- Studied for priesthood in Kraków's underground
seminary
|
| Theatrical
appearance |
Played the the lead role of "Samuel Zborowski" by Juliusz Słowacki
performed in the house of a group of friends.
|
| His
Mentor
|
Archbishop Adam Sapieha
|
| Religious
vocation |
- 1942 he was studying for the priesthood
- Novemeber 1, 1946 -ordained a priest
- 1958 - was named auxiliary bishop of Krakow
by Pope Pius XII and four years later he assumed leadership of the diocese with the title of
Vicar Capitular.
- 1967 - Pope Paul VI elevated him to cardinal.
- October 16, 1978 -
at age 58, he was elected to succeed Pope John Paul I
|
| As
a Pope |
He
is the 264th Pope and the 263rd Successor of Peter. |
| During
his pontificate |
147 beatification ceremonies (
1,338 Blesseds proclaimed ) and 51 canonization ceremonies (
482 Saints ) |
| Authored |
- "Easter Vigils and Other Poems".
- His letters, sermons and speeches fill nearly 150 volumes. In addition to 10 encyclicals, two are in the works, on ecumenism and the sanctity of
life.
- Foundations of Renewal: A Study on the Implementation of the Second Vatican Council, which reflects his efforts to educate the people of his archdiocese on Vatican
I in 1972
- Published the Code of
Canon Law in 1983.
- In 1994 his work "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" was received with mixed critical reviews, but it garnered a six million dollar publishing deal, with the money going to the church.
- Greatest philosophical work,
"Person and Act"
- Totally 14 encyclicals,
along with 13 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic
constitutions, 42 apostolic letters.
|
| Compact
Disc |
Mixed recordings of papal
addresses with songs and prayers by the Pope were released
just before Easter 1999 along with a music video
|
| Held |
1,161 general audiences,
attended by over 17.6 million people.
|
| Experienced |
At the Basilica of Our Lady
of Guadalupe, Mexico he experienced an epiphany that his
missin is to become a 'Pilgrim Pope'
|
| Health |
1992 - Had a tumor removed from his colon
1993 - dislocated his shoulder
1994 - broke his femur
1996 - his appendix removed
2001 - an orthopedic surgeon confirmed
that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease.
|
| Characteristics |
immense powers of concentration
virtually photographic memory for names and details.
|
| Facts |
- He was the first
Polish(Slavic) Pope and also the first non-Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI in 1522.
- While studying at
Jagiellonian University he joined the "Studio 38", experimental
theater group founded by Tadeusz Kudliński.
- "Be not afraid"
were the first words he spoke to the world as Pontiff.
- He was the first Pope to visit the Synagogue in Rome (April 13, 1986)
and preach to a Muslim audience consisting of 80,000
youths in a stadium of Casablanca, Morocco on August 19,
1985
- By the age of 36, he had two doctorate
degrees and was a professor of ethics.
- His selection as the
archbishop of Krakow in 1964 was opposed by the Cardinal
Stefan Wyszynski but eventually he gave in.
- The pope wished a Happy Easter to the world in 58 languages as part of his "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) during Easter Mass at the Vatican in April 1998.
- He was the first pontiff to have a website.
- His father made him study in a chilly room to toughen him and develop his
concentration when he was young.
- John Paul II was by papal standards a comparatively young man when he was elected in 1978. He was only 58, making him the youngest Pope in 132 years.
- Soon after he became
Pope he officiated the marriage ceremony for two
commoners just because they asked him.
- He would hear
worshippers' confessions in St.Peter's Basilica.
- On October 2, 1979 he
addressed the UN general Assembly
- On june 2, 1980 he
addressed the UNESCO
- Pope John Paul II may be the only Pope whose life was portrayed in a comic book. In 1983, Marvel Comics published a Pope biography.
- In 1991 wrote a letter
to President George H.W.Bush and Saddam Hussein in an
attempt to avert the Gulf War.
- In 1998 the Vatican
released a 10 page apology for the Church's failures
during Holocaust.
- He convened 9
consistories, installed 232 cardinals, ordained 321
bishops, baptized 687 children and 814 adults.
|
| Galileo |
On October 31, 1992 he
formally proclaimed that the Catholic Church erred in
condemning Galileo for holding that the Earth is not the
center of the Universe.
|
| Rumoured |
To have been responsible for
the fall of Communism in a Non-violent way.
|
| Survived |
He was hit once by a streetcar
and again by a truck in 1944 as a college student.
Suffered severe wounds when
he was shot as he entered St. Peter's Square to address
a general audience Later he went to the prison and met with
Mehmet Ali Agca, the person who tried to assassinate
|
| His
room in Vatican |
The room contains a single bed, two straight-backed upholstered chairs, a desk. There is a small carpet near the bed, but otherwise the parquet floor is bare. The walls too are unembellished except for a few souvenirs, mostly icons.
|
| Reads |
Cracow Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny |
| His
secretaries |
Monsignor Stanislaw Dziwisz, 55, also of Cracow. Vietnamese, Monsignor Vincent Tran Ngoc Thu
|
| Day
begins |
5:30
am in the morning and does not end until 11:30 pm |
| Meals |
pasta or antipasto, followed by a meat dish with vegetables and salad, and either fruit with cheese or a Polish pastry for dessert |
| In
his private chapel |
Poland's most cherished icon, the Black Virgin of Czestochowa |
| While
writing |
top left of every page he prints the letters AMDG (initials for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam - To the Greater Glory of God). On the top right of the first page he inscribes Tuus Totus (All
Thine), |
| Travel |
Is the most widely traveled pontiff ever, having visited
129 countries in 104 visits covering all the continents except Antarctica.
Had logged more than 723,723 miles of travel, which is about
30 times around the globe or three times to the moon.
Personally visited all of Rome's 334 parishes.
|
| Against |
women
in the priesthood, abortion, birth control and homosexuality |
| Relationship
with China |
China refuses to recognize the Roman Catholic church, and a papal visit to China is impossible as long as the Vatican continues to give diplomatic recognition to Taiwan. |
| Quote
Against abortion |
"A nation that kills its own children has no future." |
| On
France’s recent ban on large Christian crosses in schools. |
"Let’s not be afraid to speak of God and to carry on high the signs of faith.
Those who contend that public reference to faith can infringe the rightful autonomy of the state and civil institutions or that it can even encourage attitudes of intolerance are wrong.”
|
| Poland |
Eight months after he was elected Pope,
his visit to Poland, encouraged the rise of the labor movement known as Solidarity and chipped away at the wall of communism in that predominantly Catholic country.
|
| Diplomacy |
Visited the memorial at Auschwitz to victims of the Holocaust
In 1993, the pope presided over the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel.
|
| Famous
Quote |
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we
live" |
| Reign |
26
years, 5 months, 17 days. |
| Passed
away |
At
the age of 84 on April 2, 2005 |
