The Polish
Saint, Pope St. John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes
Paulus II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła in 18 May 1920 and died in 2 April 2005, served as Roman
Pontiff from 1978 to 2005. He is widely known to Catholics as Saint John Paul
the Great, especially in the names of institutions.
He was
elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John
Paul I, who had been elected in August after the death of Pope Paul VI, died after
thirty-three days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the
conclave and adopted his predecessor's name in tribute to him. John Paul II is
recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually
all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's
relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican
Communion. He upheld the Church's teachings on such matters as artificial
contraception and the ordination of women, but also supported the Church's
Second Vatican Council and its reforms.
He was one
of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during
his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to
holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonised 483 saints, more than the
combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the
time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated
or co-consecrated a large number of the world's bishops, and ordained many
priests. A key goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic
Church. His wish was "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious
alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great
religious armada."
He was the
second longest-serving pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX, who served
for nearly 32 years from 1846 to 1878. Born in Poland, John Paul II was the
first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522 to
1523. John Paul II's cause for canonisation commenced in 2005 one month after
his death with the traditional five-year waiting period waived. On 19 December
2009, John Paul II was proclaimed Venerable by his successor Pope Benedict XVI
and was beatified on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) after the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints attributed one miracle to his intercession, the
healing of a French nun from Parkinson's disease. A second miracle attributed
to John Paul II's intercession was approved on 2 July 2013, and confirmed by
Pope Francis two days later (two miracles must be attributed to a person's
intercession to be declared a saint). John Paul II was canonised on 27 April
2014 (again Divine Mercy Sunday), together with Pope John XXIII. On 11
September 2014, Pope Francis added John Paul II's optional memorial feast day
to the worldwide General Roman Calendar of saints, in response to worldwide
requests. It is traditional to celebrate saints' feast days on the anniversary
of their deaths, but that of John Paul II (22 October) is celebrated on the
anniversary of his papal inauguration.
Retrieved from the Wikipedia encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II
(27.08.2016).
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