Saint John Paul II

Karol Wojtyła was born in Wadowice, Poland in 1920. Tragedy marked his life: his mother died when he was eight, his brother when he was twelve, his father when he was twenty. During the Nazi occupation of Poland, he worked in a stone quarry and chemical factory by day, and studied for the priesthood in an underground seminary by night. Discovery meant execution. He was ordained in 1946. Under Soviet Communism, he became a bishop at 38, cardinal at 47. He was an avid outdoorsman, poet, playwright, skier, and philosopher. In October 1978, at age 58, he was elected Pope — the first non-Italian in 455 years. His opening words on St. Peter's balcony: 'Be not afraid!' He would repeat those words for 27 years. He traveled more than any pope in history, visiting 129 countries and speaking to millions. His first visit home to Communist Poland in 1979 lit a fire that led to the Solidarity movement and, a decade later, the fall of the Berlin Wall. President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev both credited him with hastening the collapse of the Soviet Union. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981 — shot at close range in St. Peter's Square. He visited his would-be killer in prison and forgave him. He wrote 14 encyclicals and gave the Church a comprehensive moral vision. He developed the 'Theology of the Body,' a reflection on the meaning of human love, marriage, and sexuality. He canonized more saints than all previous popes combined. He reached out to Jews, Muslims, and Orthodox Christians with unprecedented warmth. In his final years, he suffered publicly with Parkinson's disease, teaching the world to see dignity in weakness. He died in 2005 as crowds in St. Peter's Square prayed for him. As his coffin closed, people chanted 'Santo Subito!' — 'Saint Now!' He was canonized by Pope Francis in 2014.