John Paul II

Saint John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyła on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. Marked early by sorrow, he lost his mother as a child and later his brother and father, yet his faith deepened amid suffering. As a young man he loved literature and theater, studied in Kraków, and during the Nazi occupation labored in a quarry and factory to avoid deportation. In those dark years he discerned God’s call and entered the underground seminary, preparing quietly for the priesthood. Rising through service as a priest and bishop, he became Archbishop of Kraków and a cardinal before being elected pope in 1978, taking the name John Paul II. A tireless shepherd, he traveled widely, preached the universal call to holiness, strengthened the Church through the revised Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and worked to build bridges with Jews, Muslims, and Orthodox Christians. He is also remembered for his witness against oppression and for encouraging hope in the face of atheistic regimes. He is invoked as patron of Bełchatów, Pope John Paul II High School, Rivignano, and the Shalom Catholic Community. His feast day is October 22.