1920 to Apr 2, 2005 • He is the patron saint of World Youth Day. • The feast day of Saint John Paul II is on October 22 • From October of 1978 to April 2, 2005 John Paul II was Pope of the Catholic Church. EARLY LIFE
• Saint John Paul II or Karol Józef Wojtyla,
which was his original name, grew up in Wadowice, Poland. • He lost his mother and older brother when he was young • Later he went to study at Jagiellonian University in Warsaw until Germany invaded Poland in 1939. • As the war waged on, John Paul II joined and underground seminary and he eventually became ordained to priesthood. RISE TO PAPACY
• In 1958 Karol was anointed as archbishop
of Kraków • Later he was anointed as a Cardinal in 1967. • Then in October 16, 1978 Karol became Pope John Paul II and the first non-Italian Pope in 450 years. DESTROYING AN EMPIRE • Saint John Paul II’s message of peace and faith to many and this caused problems for the Soviet Union during the Cold War. • When he stepped out of his plane in Poland and kissed the ground he set off a fire that would destroy the Soviets Union. • “You are not who they say you are, so let me remind you who you are.” –Saint John Paul II • “I have had a feeling, particularly in the pope’s visit to Poland, that religion may turn out to be the Soviets’ Achilles’ heel” –Ronald Reagan • Eventually, all the Soviet puppet states drift away from the Soviet Union and led to the collapse of it. IMPROVING RELATIONS
• He sought to improve relations between
the Catholic church and the other Abrahamic religions, Islam and Judaism. • For Judaism, he improved relations by recognizing Israel, making anti-Semitism a sin, and becoming the first Pope to visit a synagogue (the Great Synagogue of Rome). • He improved relations with Islam by becoming the first Pope to visit a mosque (the Great Mosque of Damascus) and kissed the Koran, the Muslim holy book etc. END OF LIFE • John Paul II’s life could have been cut short on May 13, 1981 when a man named Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to assassinate the Pope, but a miracle saved the Pope’s life as the bullet grazed his organs. • After recovering, John Paul II did the last thing anyone would ever expect and that was visiting his assassin in prison and forgave him for trying to kill him. • He died on Apr 02, 2005 at the age of 84 from Parkinson’s disease. Pope Francis canonized him on April 27, 2014.