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Born as Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Republic of Poland
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Ordained on All Saint's Day in Krakow, Poland
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Before his time as a cardinal he participated in the Second Vatican Council and during his time as a cardinal and as pope he upheld it. Also as a cardinal he was instrumental in formulating the encyclical "Humanae Vitae," which dealt with issues such as abortion and birth control.
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This was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council, which concluded in 1965
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Father Karol Jozef Wojtyla becomes Pope John Paul II, the 264th pope, second youngest pope ever, and the first non-Italian pope since 1523
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Pope John Paul II began his famous pastoral trips with a visit to Mexico. During his papacy he made trips to 129 countries, travelling more than 1,100,000 km
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Pope John Paul II beatified 1,340 people which is more than any other previous pope. This was a part of his Universal Call to Holiness. He also canonised 483 saints during his pontificate.
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He was met with ecstatic crowds wherever he went and uplifted the nation's spirit. He also was a major factor in ending Communism in Poland with his call to Poles to be good, not to compromise themselves, to stick by one another, to be fearless, and that God is the only source of goodness, which united the people against the Communist regime.
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Pope John Paul II was the first pope to ever visit the White House, where he greeted then-President Jimmy Carter during his first visit to the U.S.
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Pope John Paul II was the first pope to visit the Whitehouse, where he greeted then-President Jimmy Carter during his first trip to the U.S.
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The Pope was shot in the abdomen by a Turkish gunman in Rome's St. Peter's Square and is saved by surgery
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He became the first pope since the time of the apostles to visit a synagogue and called the Jews our "beloved elder brothers."
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Published in forty languages and selling over 1 million copies in Italy alone, "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" was made up of many of the Pope's answers to to questions from Vittorio Messori, which were originally intended to be asked during a live television interview to celebrate fifteen years of his Papacy
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According to the Vatican this is the largest Papal gathering ever with 4 million people in attendance. Pope John Paul II also offered mass to a crowd of between 5 and 7 million in Manila, which was considered to be the largest single gathering in Christian history.
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This condemned spreading "Culture of Death" including abortion, euthanasia, experimentation on human embryos, and contraception
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The church had high hope to bring fast political change when Pope John Paul II visited Cuban President Fidel Castro.
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Pope John Paul II expressed much sorrow at Jerusalem's Western Wall during his visit to the Holy Land for the suffering of Jews at the hands of Christians
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Pope John paul expressed much sorrow during his visit to the Holy Lands at Jerusalem's Western Wall for the suffering of Jews at the hands of Christians.
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He became the first pope to enter a mosque and to make such a meaningful gesture towards Islam. His main purpose was to plead for peace and for each faith to start to forgive eachother for past centuries of conflict.
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During this visit the Pope focused on promoting religous women, the value of the family, and the vocations of every Christian
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The process of this beatification had been one of the shortest in modern history and one of the most supported.
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The Pope was awarded the Medal of Freedom by U.S. President George W. Bush for his significant, enduring, and historic contributions to the causes of freedom, human dignity, and peace.
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Pope John Paul II died at age 84 and spent his last days in the Vatican attended by his friend and secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz. Also by a cardinal from Ukraine and Polish nuns of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, who ran the papal household. His funeral was a global media event.
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Because of the calls of many people around the world, the normal 5 year waiting period to be beatified was bypassed and Pope John Paul II's beatification process started almost immediately after his funeral.
