Short Biography of Pope John Paul II

Short Biography of Pope John Paul II

The man known as Pope John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, and given the name Karol Jozef Wojtyla. His parents, Karol and Emilia, were middle-class townspeople who raised their two sons (Karol was the younger) to be good students and, more importantly, good Catholics. Most every morning, Karol attended Mass at the parish church, and often stopped to pray on his way home from school. His mother, a beautiful, frail woman, died when Karol was nine, while delivering a stillborn daughter. Karol's father raised the two boys alone from then on. Tragedy struck again in 1932, when Karol's older brother Edmund was killed by the smallpox epidemic that he was treating as an intern doctor. This left Karol and his father alone in the world, as they had little family to share their grief.

Karol was interested in two things while in school: soccer and the theatre. He was a good goalie on the field, and had a dream to support his family by playing the sport. But his real love was the stage. He was a natural actor, especially fond of plays that dealt with topics vital to his country. Polish plays often had, at their core, the pain of Poland's history, as well as the strength that the nation drew from its Catholic faith. Karol was himself immersed in the history of his motherland, and remains so to this day, ever reminding his fellow Poles that their country has a part to play in the destiny of the nations.

When World War II broke out, Karol was a university student, and he wished merely to remain a student. But situations forced him to seek employment, first in a stone quarry and then in a chemical plant. These jobs permitted Karol to avoid deportation to Germany as forced labor for the Nazi war effort. It was while he was working in the Solvay Chemical Works that Karol's co-workers encouraged him to pursue studies for the priesthood. Karol applied and was accepted into the underground seminary being conducted in Cardinal Sapieha's residence in Krakow.

Karol also began to publish his poetry during the War, under the pseudonym Andrzej Jawien. His poetry often dealt with the concrete experiences of the quarry or the chemical plant. Later, his poetry would deal with the Church and his life as a bishop. It is unknown if he writes poetry today, in the midst of his work as Pope. Perhaps the world will discover this once he has been taken from us.

Karol was ordained a priest on November 1, 1946, and sent to Rome to complete further studies at the Dominican-run Angelicum. He discovered the writings on the Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church, John of the Cross while engaging in his post-graduate work, and eventually published his Doctoral dissertation on "Problems of Faith in the Work of St. John of the Cross". While researching his dissertation, he learned Spanish in order to appreciate the writings in their original language, a gift that has served him well in his ministry as Universal Pastor. He graduated magna cum laude with a Doctorate in Divinity in 1948, and returned to Poland to do parish work and to teach. Fr. Wojtyla completed a second Doctorate in Theology at the Jagiellonian University, and in 1954 transferred to the Catholic University of Lublin as a professor of Ethics and Philosophy.

While serving as a professor, Fr. Wojtyla did not lose touch with pastoral duties, serving as a chaplain to the university students and conducting many retreats and workshops for young people who were seeking answers to the many questions about life that are typical of college students. It was this pastoral experience that formed within Fr. Wojtyla a deep affinity for youth, and a close touch with the problems of young couples. These experiences he later distilled into a philosophical work entitled "Love and Responsibility".

In 1958, Karol was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow. He was merely 38 years old, and his appointment was a surprise to many. By 1962, when the Second Vatican Council opened in Rome, Bishop Wojtyla was present, seated far in the back of St. Peter's Basilica as an Auxiliary. By the Third Session of the Council in 1964, Wojtyla moved much closer to the front, having been appointed Archbishop of that Krakow on January 13, 1964 by Pope Paul VI.

Archbishop Wojtyla played an important part in the formation of the Council document on Religious Liberty, which spoke to the question of the basic human freedom to pursue God at all, whether as a Catholic Christian or even as a non-believer. This concept, of the absolute primacy of conscience and the state's inability to interfere, has been a constant theme of the preaching of Wojtyla, and it set the stage for his preaching against all totalitarian systems that deny this liberty. The concrete experiences that he faced in Poland while struggling against the Communists provided Archbishop Wojtyla with his insights into the question.

The close of the Second Vatican Council sent Archbishop Wojtyla back to Krakow to implement the Council's work. He called an Archdiocesan Synod to learn about the work of the Council, and wrote a book that was used within the Archdiocese as a commentary on the Council's documents. This book, "Sources of Renewal: The Implementation of Vatican II", was widely hailed as a superb example of the Council's wishes for renewal. The Council has formed the entire life of Pope John Paul II, since he was a Bishop for merely four years when the Council started. In an address to some U.S. Bishops gathered in Rome on November 9, 1978, he said that his pontificate would be devoted to "the continued genuine application of the Second Vatican Council, under the action of the Holy Spirit."

In 1967, Pope Paul VI raised Archbishop Wojtyla to the rank of Cardinal. In 1976, Cardinal Wojtyla gave the Lenten retreat to Pope Paul VI and the Papal household. Cardinal Wojtyla travelled to the United States several times at the invitations of academics and Polish-American Catholics. He was thus an accomplished speaker and recognized spiritual leader when he and his fellow Cardinals entered the Conclave in August, 1978 to elect a successor to Paul VI. When the voting was over, the Cardinals had elected the Patriarch of Venice, Albino Cardinal Luciano, to continue the implementation of Vatican II. He took the name John Paul I. WIthin 34 days, John Paul was dead of heart failure, and the Cardinals assembled again to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in selecting a Holy Roman Pontiff.

On October 16, 1978, white smoke arose again from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, the first non-Italian in 450 years, had been elected Bishop of Rome. When he mounted the balcony to greet the throng assembled in St. Peter's Square, he astonished the crowd by speaking in their own language - "I should say our language," as he jokingly referred to it.

Since his election as Pope John Paul II, the Holy Father has logged more miles of travel than all of the previous 263 Popes combined. He has been seen in person by more people than any other man or woman in history. His prolific pen has produced more published material than any other Pontiff. He has served as Pope for longer than 258 of the 264 Popes before him. And his Pontificate continues...

For more information on the life and biography of Pope John Paul II, I suggest the following works:

Witness to Hope, by George Weigel (the semi-official biography)

Man of the Millennium: John Paul II, by Luigi Accatoli [translated by Jordan Aumann, OP]

Updated 21 October 2000

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	Short Biography of Pope John Paul II The man known as Pope John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, and given the name Karol Jozef Wojtyla. His parents, Karol and Emilia, were middle-class townspeople who raised their two sons (Karol was the younger) to be good students and, more importantly, good Catholics. Most every morning, Karol attended Mass at the parish church, and often stopped to pray on his way home from school. His mother, a beautiful, frail woman, died when Karol was nine, while delivering a stillborn daughter. Karol's father raised the two boys alone from then on. Tragedy struck again in 1932, when Karol's older brother Edmund was killed by the smallpox epidemic that he was treating as an intern doctor. This left Karol and his father alone in the world, as they had little family to share their grief. Karol was interested in two things while in school: soccer and the theatre. He was a good goalie on the field, and had a dream to support his family by playing the sport. But his real love was the stage. He was a natural actor, especially fond of plays that dealt with topics vital to his country. Polish plays often had, at their core, the pain of Poland's history, as well as the strength that the nation drew from its Catholic faith. Karol was himself immersed in the history of his motherland, and remains so to this day, ever reminding his fellow Poles that their country has a part to play in the destiny of the nations. When World War II broke out, Karol was a university student, and he wished merely to remain a student. But situations forced him to seek employment, first in a stone quarry and then in a chemical plant. These jobs permitted Karol to avoid deportation to Germany as forced labor for the Nazi war effort. It was while he was working in the Solvay Chemical Works that Karol's co-workers encouraged him to pursue studies for the priesthood. Karol applied and was accepted into the underground seminary being conducted in Cardinal Sapieha's residence in Krakow. Karol also began to publish his poetry during the War, under the pseudonym Andrzej Jawien. His poetry often dealt with the concrete experiences of the quarry or the chemical plant. Later, his poetry would deal with the Church and his life as a bishop. It is unknown if he writes poetry today, in the midst of his work as Pope. Perhaps the world will discover this once he has been taken from us. Karol was ordained a priest on November 1, 1946, and sent to Rome to complete further studies at the Dominican-run Angelicum. He discovered the writings on the Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church, John of the Cross while engaging in his post-graduate work, and eventually published his Doctoral dissertation on "Problems of Faith in the Work of St. John of the Cross". While researching his dissertation, he learned Spanish in order to appreciate the writings in their original language, a gift that has served him well in his ministry as Universal Pastor. He graduated magna cum laude with a Doctorate in Divinity in 1948, and returned to Poland to do parish work and to teach. Fr. Wojtyla completed a second Doctorate in Theology at the Jagiellonian University, and in 1954 transferred to the Catholic University of Lublin as a professor of Ethics and Philosophy. While serving as a professor, Fr. Wojtyla did not lose touch with pastoral duties, serving as a chaplain to the university students and conducting many retreats and workshops for young people who were seeking answers to the many questions about life that are typical of college students. It was this pastoral experience that formed within Fr. Wojtyla a deep affinity for youth, and a close touch with the problems of young couples. These experiences he later distilled into a philosophical work entitled "Love and Responsibility". In 1958, Karol was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow. He was merely 38 years old, and his appointment was a surprise to many. By 1962, when the Second Vatican Council opened in Rome, Bishop Wojtyla was present, seated far in the back of St. Peter's Basilica as an Auxiliary. By the Third Session of the Council in 1964, Wojtyla moved much closer to the front, having been appointed Archbishop of that Krakow on January 13, 1964 by Pope Paul VI. Archbishop Wojtyla played an important part in the formation of the Council document on Religious Liberty, which spoke to the question of the basic human freedom to pursue God at all, whether as a Catholic Christian or even as a non-believer. This concept, of the absolute primacy of conscience and the state's inability to interfere, has been a constant theme of the preaching of Wojtyla, and it set the stage for his preaching against all totalitarian systems that deny this liberty. The concrete experiences that he faced in Poland while struggling against the Communists provided Archbishop Wojtyla with his insights into the question. The close of the Second Vatican Council sent Archbishop Wojtyla back to Krakow to implement the Council's work. He called an Archdiocesan Synod to learn about the work of the Council, and wrote a book that was used within the Archdiocese as a commentary on the Council's documents. This book, "Sources of Renewal: The Implementation of Vatican II", was widely hailed as a superb example of the Council's wishes for renewal. The Council has formed the entire life of Pope John Paul II, since he was a Bishop for merely four years when the Council started. In an address to some U.S. Bishops gathered in Rome on November 9, 1978, he said that his pontificate would be devoted to "the continued genuine application of the Second Vatican Council, under the action of the Holy Spirit." In 1967, Pope Paul VI raised Archbishop Wojtyla to the rank of Cardinal. In 1976, Cardinal Wojtyla gave the Lenten retreat to Pope Paul VI and the Papal household. Cardinal Wojtyla travelled to the United States several times at the invitations of academics and Polish-American Catholics. He was thus an accomplished speaker and recognized spiritual leader when he and his fellow Cardinals entered the Conclave in August, 1978 to elect a successor to Paul VI. When the voting was over, the Cardinals had elected the Patriarch of Venice, Albino Cardinal Luciano, to continue the implementation of Vatican II. He took the name John Paul I. WIthin 34 days, John Paul was dead of heart failure, and the Cardinals assembled again to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in selecting a Holy Roman Pontiff. On October 16, 1978, white smoke arose again from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, the first non-Italian in 450 years, had been elected Bishop of Rome. When he mounted the balcony to greet the throng assembled in St. Peter's Square, he astonished the crowd by speaking in their own language - "I should say our language," as he jokingly referred to it. Since his election as Pope John Paul II, the Holy Father has logged more miles of travel than all of the previous 263 Popes combined. He has been seen in person by more people than any other man or woman in history. His prolific pen has produced more published material than any other Pontiff. He has served as Pope for longer than 258 of the 264 Popes before him. And his Pontificate continues... For more information on the life and biography of Pope John Paul II, I suggest the following works: Witness to Hope, by George Weigel (the semi-official biography) Man of the Millennium: John Paul II, by Luigi Accatoli [translated by Jordan Aumann, OP] Updated 21 October 2000