Pope John Paul II

Pope Saint John Paul II
Bishop of Rome
John Paul II in 1988
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	16 October 1978
Papacy ended	2 April 2005
Predecessor	John Paul I
Successor	Benedict XVI
Previous post(s)	Auxiliary Bishop of Kraków (1958‍–‍1964) Titular Bishop of Ombi (1958‍–‍1964) Archbishop of Kraków (1964‍–‍1978) Cardinal Priest of San Cesareo in Palatio (1967‍–‍1978)
Orders
Ordination	1 November 1946 by Adam Stefan Sapieha
Consecration	28 September 1958 by Eugeniusz Baziak
Created cardinal	26 June 1967 by Paul VI
Rank	Cardinal priest
Personal details
Born	Karol Józef Wojtyła (1920-05-18)18 May 1920 Wadowice, Poland
Died	2 April 2005(2005-04-02) (aged 84) Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
Buried	Chapel of St. Sebastian, St. Peter's Basilica
Education	Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PhL, PhD) Jagiellonian University (STD)
Motto	Totus tuus (Latin for 'Totally yours')
Signature
Coat of arms
Sainthood
Feast day	22 October
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	1 May 2011 St. Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
Canonized	27 April 2014 St. Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis
Attributes	Papal vestments Papal ferula
Patronage	Poland Archdiocese of Kraków World Youth Day (co-patron) World Meeting of Families 2015 (co-patron) Young Catholics Families[1] Świdnica[2] Trecastelli[3] Borgo Mantovano[4] Rivignano Teor[5] Paradahan, Tanza, Cavite (major patron)[6]
Philosophical work
Era	20th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Personalism Lublin Thomism
Notable works	Love and Responsibility Theology of the Body 1983 Code of Canon Law (promulgated) Catechism of the Catholic Church (promulgated) Fides et ratio Memory and Identity
Notable ideas	Culture of life and death Mysteries of light[a] Social mortgage Theology of the Body
Ordination history
History Diaconal ordination Ordained by Adam Stefan Sapieha Date 20 October 1946 Priestly ordination Ordained by Adam Stefan Sapieha Date 1 November 1946 Place Chapel of the Kraków Archbishop's residence Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Eugeniusz Baziak Co-consecrators Franciszek Jop Bolesław Kominek Date 28 September 1958 Place Wawel Cathedral, Kraków Cardinalate Elevated by Pope Paul VI Date 26 June 1967
Other popes named John Paul

Pope John Paul II^[b] (born Karol Józef Wojtyła;^[c] 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was bishop of Rome, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005.

In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. He graduated with excellent grades from an all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland, in 1938, soon after which World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent to a German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. Wojtyła eventually took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theatre. The linguistically skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish at university. Encouraged by a conversation with Adam Stefan Sapieha, he decided to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kraków and then a cardinal, both positions held by his mentor. Wojtyła was elected pope on the third day of the second papal conclave of 1978, and became one of the youngest popes in history. The conclave was called after the death of John Paul I, who served only 33 days as pope. Wojtyła adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him.^[7]

John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history after Pius IX and St. Peter. John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the spirit of ecumenism, holding atheism as the greatest threat. He maintained the Church's previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation.^[8][9] He put emphasis on family and identity, while questioning consumerism, hedonism and the pursuit of wealth. 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, John Paul II beatified 1,344 people,^[10] 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 many of the world's bishops, and ordained many priests.^[11]

He has been credited with fighting against dictatorships and with helping to end communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe.^[12] Under John Paul II, the Catholic Church greatly expanded its influence in Africa and Latin America and retained its influence in Europe and the rest of the world. On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by his successor, Benedict XVI, and on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) he was beatified. On 27 April 2014, he was canonised together with John XXIII.^[13] He has been criticised for allegedly, as archbishop under Communist Poland, having been insufficiently harsh in acting against the sexual abuse of children by priests,^[14] though the allegations themselves were criticised by some Polish journalists on the grounds of stemming from sources such as anti-pontifical clergy^[15][16] and Polish communist authorities.^[17] Posthumously he has been referred to by some Catholics as Pope St. John Paul the Great, though that title is not official.^[18]

Under John Paul II, two of the most important documents of the contemporary Catholic Church were drafted and promulgated: the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which revised and updated the 1917 Code of Canon Law, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first universal catechism to be issued since the Roman Catechism.

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