VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Born Karol Józef Wojtyla, John Paul II left his mark occupying the third longest pontificate in the history of the Church.Young Karol was born in Wadowice, a small city 35 miles southwest of Krakow, May 18, 1920.
The second of two sons born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska, his small family would not witness his rise to the papacy. His mother died in 1929, his brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and his father, a non-commissioned army officer, died in 1941.
He made his First Holy Communion at age 9, and was confirmed at 18. Upon graduation from high school in Wadowice in 1938, he and his father moved to Krakow where Karol entered the Jagiellonian University to study literature and philosophy.
The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939, and young Karol had to work in a quarry, and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being deported to Germany.
In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine seminary of Krakow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Krakow. At the same time, Karol Wojtyla was one of the pioneers of the "Rhapsodic Theatre," also clandestine.
After the Second World War, he continued his studies in the major seminary of Krakow, once it had re-opened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian University, until his priestly ordination in Krakow on Nov. 1, 1946.
Soon after, Cardinal Sapieha sent him to Rome where he worked under the guidance of the French Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange. He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on the topic of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. At that time, during his vacations, he exercised his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France, Belgium and Holland.
In 1948, he returned to Poland and was vicar of various parishes in Krakow as well as chaplain for the university students until 1951, when he took up again his studies on philosophy and theology. In 1953, he defended a thesis on the ethical system of Max Scheler at Lublin's Catholic University.
He later he became professor of moral theology and social ethics in the major seminary of Krakow and in the Faculty of Theology of Lublin.
On July 4, 1958, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow by Pope Pius XII, and was consecrated bishop Sept. 28, 1958.
On Jan. 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Krakow by Pope Paul VI, who made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.
Besides taking part in the Second Vatican Council with an important contribution to the elaboration of the constitution "Gaudium et spes," Cardinal Wojtyla participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.
Since the start of his pontificate Oct. 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II has completed 104 pastoral visits outside of Italy, and 146 within Italy. As Bishop of Rome he has visited 317 of the 333 parishes.
His principal documents include 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters.
The Pope has also published five books: "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October, 1994); "Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination" (November, 1996); "Roman Triptych – Meditations," a book of poems (March, 2003); "Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way" (May, 2004) and "Memory and Identity" (February, 2005).
John Paul II has presided at 147 beatification ceremonies, proclaiming 1,338 blesseds, and 51 canonization ceremonies, canonizing 482 saints. He has held 9 consistories in which he created 231 (+ 1 in pectore) cardinals. He has also convened six plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals.
The Holy Father has 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(2) and 1999).
His contact with people has exceeded that of any other Pope. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims have participated in the more than 1,160 General Audiences held on Wednesdays, and more than 8 million pilgrims participate in the events of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone.
Karol Józef Wojtyla, John Paul II: May 18, 1920-April 2, 2005
Pope John Paul II: Biographical Resources
- John Paul II: The Millenial Pope Frontline Television Documentary. "An exploration into his character and beliefs and his fierce challenge to the modern world."
- The Pontificate of Pope John Paul II, a special feature of EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network).
- "Be Not Afraid . . ." The Vatican's Special Feature on the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, from 1978 thru 2005.
- Pope John Paul II: Photo Gallery from the book John Paul II: A Light for the World. From a special feature on the website of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
- Major Dates in the Life of Pope John Paul II
- Karol Józef Wojtyla, John Paul II: May 18, 1920-April 2, 2005. Zenit News Service.
- "Rogito": the Document Placed in Pope's Coffin. A translation of the "Rogito," the record of the life and works of John Paul II, read by Archbishop Piero Marini, master of pontifical liturgical celebrations. After being signed by all those present, the document was placed in John Paul II's coffin. April 8, 2005.
On the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II
- All-Embracing Man of Action for a New Era of Papacy, by Robert McFadden. New York Times April 3, 2005:
The man who would call himself John Paul II was not the traditional papal figure, compassionate and loving but ascetic and remote behind the high walls and the elaborate ceremony of the Vatican. Here was a different kind of pope: complex, schooled in confrontation, theologically intransigent but deftly politic, full of wit and daring, energy and physically expressive love.
More than outgoing, he was all-embracing - a bear-hugging, larger-than-life man of action who had climbed mountains, performed in plays, written books and seen war, and he was determined from the start to make the world his parish and go out and minister to its troubles and see to its spiritual needs.
- A Man for All Seasons: The very modern papacy of John Paul II Wall Street Journal:
. . . this was a man eminently comfortable with modernity--even while he refused to accept modernity's most shallow assumptions. Just as he offered his first public words as pope in Italian to make himself understood by those below his balcony, he held that ultimate truths about man and his relationship with his Creator are never outdated, however much they require constant expression in new languages and new circumstances.
- "A magnificent pope who presided over a controversial pontificate", by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter April 2004.
- The Last Anti-modern Pope, by Sandro Magister; interview with Giovanni Maria Vian: "His was a Church of saints set against the powers of evil: first Soviet communism, then the civilization of money, sex, and the liberty that enslaves."
Published Works by Pope John Paul II
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Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium March, 2005. Reviews and Related Articles
The Parting Gift: A Review of JPIIÕs Last Book, by G. Tracy Mehan III. CatholicExchange.com. October 7, 2005. The Enlightenment & All That, by Bernard M. Prusak. Commonweal June 3, 2005 / Volume CXXXII, Number 11. The Deafening Silence of Pope Karol Wojtyla, by Sandro Magister, interviewing political science professors professors Giovanni Sartori and Silvio Ferrari on the theses of John Paul II's Memory & Identity. March 3, 2005. Review by John Traffas. U. of Dallas. April 13, 2005. Divine Mercy and the Limits of Evil, by James V. Schall, S.J. Homiletic & Pastoral Review October 2005. |
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Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way September 2004. Reviews and Related Articles
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The Poetry of Pope John Paul II: Roman Triptych - Meditations September, 2003 Reviews and Related Articles
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Invitation to Prayer February, 2002. |
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Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination April, 1999. |
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The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan December 1997. Reviews & Related Articles
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Crossing the Threshhold of Hope October, 1994. Reviews & Related Articles
A Pope of the First Millennium at the Threshold of the Third, by Richard J. Neuhaus. First Things 49 (January 1995 ). A Flawed Translation?, by Peter Roman. Inside the Vatican December 1994. |
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The Jeweler's Shop Ignatius Press, 1992. |
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Love and Responsibility Ignatius Press; Rev. ed edition (April 1, 1993). [First published 1960]. |
Published Works about Pope John Paul II
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Biographies |
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Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, by George Weigel.
Reviews
Review by Mary Ann Glendon. Rome Oct. 4, 1999 (ZENIT). |
| Academic Studies of the Thought of John Paul II | |
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Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II by Rocco Buttiglione, Paolo Guietti (Translator), Francesco Murphy (Translator). September, 1997. Reviews
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At the Center of the Human Drama: The Philosophical Anthropology of Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II by Kenneth L. Schmitz Catholic University of America Press (October 1, 1993). Reviews and Related Articles
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The Splendor of Faith : The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II by Avery Cardinal Dulles. Revised and Updated. Herder & Herder (September, 2003).
A philosopher and theologian, as well as priest, and finally Pope, John Paul II has written extensivley on a wide variety of subjects. With his considerable theological expertise and acumen, Avery Dulles has undertaken the demanding task of synthesizing the Pope's theological insights on the complete range of topics from the Trinity and Christology to the economic and social order.
Reviews and Related Articles
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by Dr. Samuel Gregg Lexington Books (January 2003).
Samuel Gregg provides an insightful, cogent, and thorough analysis of the issues surrounding developments in Catholic social teaching during the pontificate of John Paul II. He compares the treatment in John Paul's social encyclicals of three topics-industrial relations, capitalism, and the relations between developed and developing countries-with the handling of these matters in the social teachings of the Second Vatican Council and Paul VI. Through the application of a comparative exegetical approach to the relevant texts, it becomes apparent that John Paul's development of the teaching derives from several sources. Within this analysis, Gregg considers a more specific and less widely examined issue: the extent to which the development in Catholic social thought has been influenced by the writings of Karol Wojtyla before he became pope in 1978. In addition to revealing an openness to certain modern philosophical insights and expressing a range of views about the modern world, these writings elaborate a distinctive anthropology of man as the conscious subject of moral acts. -- Publisher
Reviews and Related Articles
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Avery Cardinal Dulles on Pope John Paul II
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. is currently the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University. Past President of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the American Theological Society and Professor Emeritus at The Catholic University of America, Cardinal Dulles has served on the International Theological Commission and as a member of the United States Lutheran/Roman Catholic Coordinating Committee. He was made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in February 2001, the first U.S. theologian to be so honored in such a manner. He is author of The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II.
- John Paul II and the Mystery of the Human Person - Oct. 1, 2003. Fordham University McGinley Lecture. [Streaming Video]; Article in Print America February 2, 2004. Vol. 190 No. 3. [subscription required].
- Truth as the Ground of Freedom: A Theme from John Paul II The Acton Institute, 2002.
Can Philosophy Be Christian? On the encyclical Fides Et Ratio. First Things 102 (April 2000): 24-29.
- John Paul II and The Advent of The New Millennium originally delivered at Fordham University on Nov. 16, 1999 as the Eighth Annual Fall McGinley Lecture.
- John Paul II and the Truth about Freedom First Things 55 (August/September 1995): 36-41.
- Centesimus Annus and the Renewal of Culture Markets & Morality Volume 2, Number 1. Spring 1999. Speech delivered to a conference on the encyclical Centesimus Annus, sponsored by the Acton Institute, Washington, D.C., May 13-14, 1996.
- The Gospel of Life: A Symposium. First Things, 56 (October 1995): 32-38. Participating in a discussion of Evangelium Vitae.
Fr. Richard J. Neuhaus on Pope John Paul II
Fr. Richard John Neuhaus is editor-in-chief of First Things, published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life, and the author of several books on Pope John Paul II, including Appointment in Rome: The Church in America Awakening -- chronicling the Synod for America held in Rome, 1997 -- to which he was a special delegate designated by the Pope -- and Doing Well & Doing Good:
The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist, on the Papal encyclical Centesimus Annus.
- A Passion for Truth. First Things 88 (December 1998).
- The Cuban Revolutions First Things 83 (May 1998): 23-28. Notes and observations from Fr. Neuhaus' trip with Pope John Paul II's historic to Cuba, which was unfortunately shrounded by the media coverage of President Bill Clinton's sex scandal.
- The Liberalism of John Paul II First Things 73 (May 1997): 16-21. On the liberalism (properly understood) of the Pope, on the political philosophy of the encylical Centesimus Annus.
- John Paul II Plays "The Capital of the World". First Things 59 (January 1996).
- The Gospel of Life. Review of Evangelium Vitae. Wall Street Journal April 3, 1995.
George Weigel on Pope John Paul II
George Weigel is a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of the 1999 biography Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, which was published in eleven languages. He has traveled with the Pope and over the course of his life has explicated his thought in articles, interviews and addresses, which are collected here:
- Moments, Public & Private, with the Pope. Interview with Fr. Raymond J. DeSouza. National Catholic Register Special Edition: John Paul II:
A Life That Changed the World. April 10-16, 2005.
- The Pope in Private, from the April 11 issue of Newsweek. ("A serious philosopher, John Paul II also had a serious sweet tooth . . . .")
- Pope John Paul II and Evangelicals. Interview with Christianity Today. April 4, 2005.
- John Paul II in Words and Pictures: Remembering the "Witness to Hope", Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC) COLLECTION April 4, 2005.
- Mourning and Remembrance: The pope believed that "history" is His-story--the story of God's quest for man. Wall Street Journal April 4, 2005.
- "A Man Who Believed That Jesus Christ Is the Answer". Interview with Zenit on the impact of John Paul II's pontificate. April 3, 2005.
- A Disciple Defined by His Faith Obituary for The Boston Globe April 3, 2005.
- Pope John Paul II: An Appreciation Scripps Howard News Service. April 2, 2005.
Witness to a Man of Hope & Inspiration Interview with Kathryn Lopez on the life and legacy of John Paul II. National Review April 2, 2005.
- Lessons of a Pontiff's Twilight The Washington Post March 22, 2005.
The Next Pope...and Why He Matters to All of Us The Fourth William E. Simon Lecture. Delivered January 12, 2005.
- What The Pope is Teaching Us Now Interview with Zenit.org. Oct. 18, 2004.
- The President and The Pope. From the Ronald Reagan Memorial Issue of National Review. June 22, 2004.
- Why Everyone Counts: What John Paul II Has Helped Teach Us. Commencement speech at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. May 8, 2004.
- A living prayer of self-sacrifice. "The Catholic Difference". Oct. 28, 2003.
- The great Christian witness of our time. "The Catholic Difference". October 22, 2003.
- The Heroic Papacy. "John Paul II has dramatically revitalized the world's oldest institutional office, and continues to surprise." Beliefnet.com. Oct. 2003.
- On the 25 Year "Silver Anniversary" of John Paul II Interview with Zenit.org. Sept. 29, 2003.
- The Pope & The Genius. On the Pope's appreciation of Michaelangelo. "The Catholic Difference". April 11, 2003.
- On the Pope's New Poetry Interview with Zenit.org. March 20, 2003.
And the Wall Came Tumbling Down: Pope John Paul II and the Collapse of Communism A Lecture Given at Grove City College (Grove City College, PA). Feb. 15, 2002.
- John Paul II: A Life for Life Keynote Address: Culture of Life Conference Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. University of Notre Dame. 29 November 2001 [.pdf format]
- Holy Land Pilgrimage: A Diary. First Things 104 (June/July 2000): 27-34.
The Holy Father in the Holy Land The Weekly Standard Volume 005, Issue 29 April 10, 2000.
- Pope John Paul II and the Dynamics of History. The 2000 Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs. Watch on the West Volume 1, Number 6. April 2000.
- John Paul II and the Crisis of Humanism. First Things 98 (December 1999): 31-36.
John Paul II's Hope for the Springtime of the Human Spirit. Religion & Liberty. The Acton Institute. September-October 1999.
- Prepared to Lead Crisis 15, no. 9. October, 1998.
John Paul II and the Priority of Culture. First Things 80 (February 1998): 19-25.
- II Papa Meets El Presidente: John Paul II goes to Cuba. The Weekly Standard Volume 003, Issue 18. January 19, 1998.
John Paul II: preparing the 21st Century. Crisis 15 No. 10. November 1997.
- The Mobile Pope From the issue "John Paul in America", The Weekly Standard October 9, 1995.
Prayer to implore 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.
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