Karol Wojtyla - the making of the "globetrotting
Pope" (source: www.vatican.va)
Karol
Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to
the papacy, was born in Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometres from Cracow,
on May 18, 1920. He was the second of two sons born to Karol Wojtyla and
Emilia Kaczorowska. His mother died in 1929. His eldest brother Edmund,
a doctor, died in 1932 and his father, a non-commissioned army officer
died in 1941. He
received his First Holy Communion at age 9 and was confirmed at 18. Upon
graduation from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, he enrolled in
Cracow's Jagiellonian University in 1938 and in a school for drama.
The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939 and young Karol
had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) 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 Cracow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop
of Cracow. 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
Cracow, once it had re-opened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian
University, until his priestly ordination in Cracow on November 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 Cracow
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 "evaluation of the possibility of founding a Catholic ethic
on the ethical system of Max Scheler" at Lublin Catholic University.
Later he became professor of moral theology and social ethics in the major
seminary of Cracow and in the Faculty of Theology of Lublin.
On July 4, 1958, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cracow by Pope Pius
XII, and was consecrated September 28, 1958, in Wawel Cathedral, Cracow,
by Archbishop Baziak.
On January 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul
VI, who made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.
Besides taking part in Vatican Council II 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 on October 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II completed
104 pastoral visits outside of Italy and 146 within Italy. As Bishop of
Rome he visited 317 of the 333 parishes .
His principal documents include 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations,
11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters. The Pope 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" (Spring 2005).
John Paul II presided at 147 beatification ceremonies ( 1,338 Blesseds
proclaimed ) and 51 canonization ceremonies ( 482 Saints ) during his
pontificate. He held 9 consistories in which he created 231 (+ 1 in pectore)
cardinals. He also convened six plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals.
Between 1978 to 2005 the Holy Father 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).
No other Pope has encountered so many individuals like John Paul II: more
than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on
Wednesdays (more than 1,160). Such figure is without counting all other
special audiences and religious ceremonies held [more than 8 million pilgrims
during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone] and the millions of faithful
met during pastoral visits made in Italy and throughout the world. It
must also be remembered the numerous government personalities encountered
during 38 official visits and in the 738 audiences and meetings held with
Heads of State, and even the 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
Pope John Paul II died at the
Vatican on Saturday, 2 April 2005 at 21:37 CET.