The Life of Saint Pope John Paul II
- Dec 10, 2025
- 5 min read
By: Claire Raymond
Saint Pope John Paul II is one of the most known and revered popes in the history of the
Catholic Church. His many religious feats were supported by his high intelligence and humility.
A generally impressive person, he was known to read a book and be attentive in a conversation
simultaneously, write poetry during the Second Vatican Counsel, and become bored during
meetings if not multitasking. As a youth, he learned a role in a show after the actor dropped out
two days before the performance. As a priest, bishop, and finally pope, he was religiously devout
and dedicated to being a missionary to all those in the world, especially the youth and those of
other religions.
On May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Józef Wojtyła was born to Emilia and
Karol Wojtyła Sr., the youngest of three children. Although he was born into a happy family, his
older sister, Olga, died in infancy. Tragedy continued to strike as he grew up when his mother
passed from kidney failure when he was nine years old. When he was twelve, his older brother
Edmund died when he contracted scarlet fever while serving others who were sick with the fever.
This care and generosity was widespread throughout the family, and his father, who became
Karol Jr.’s sole guardian for his teenage years, was particularly kind. As a devoutly religious man
and military officer, Karol Wojtyła Sr. was a role model for his son and inspired a religious
devotion in him. Karol Jr. was also passionate about drama and literature, a passion which
continued throughout his life.
In September of 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. In order to remain in his home
country, Karol Jr. took on jobs working in a stone quarry during the day and a chemical plant
during the night. In 1941, not long before Karol Jr.’s 21st birthday, tragedy struck again. He
returned from work to find that his father had died from a heart attack. This was a deep blow, as
his father had been his only remaining family after the passing of his mother and brother. He was
taken in by the Kydrynski family, who supported him as his own family did. In 1944, Karol Jr.
was run over by a Nazi truck while he was returning from working at the quarry. He was taken to
the hospital and recovered well after two weeks, although he was permanently injured in his
shoulder.
In 1946, Karol Jr. was ordained Father Wojtyła by Cardinal Sapieha - the only one in his
class. However, his vocation started nearly a decade earlier. In 1938, he began attending
Kraków’s Jagiellonian University, where he met Jan Tyranowski, who became his spiritual
mentor. Tyranowski introduced him to the Carmelite devotion to St. John of the Cross, where his
vocation began. Even though his studies were interrupted by World War II, his Faith formation
continued during the war. After he was ordained, he traveled to Rome to complete his studies.
After spending two years completing his doctorate in theology, he returned to Poland, where he
was an assistant pastor in the rural town of Niegowić, where he was in charge of five elementary
schools. After a year there, he returned to Kraków, where he was assigned to St. Florian Parish.
He taught at his alma mater, Jagiellonian University, for five years and was appointed to the
Chair of Ethics at the Catholic University of Lublin.
However, Father Wojtyła’s vocation was nowhere near complete. In 1958, he was
consecrated the auxiliary bishop of Kraków, the youngest bishop in the history of Poland. The
Communist government encouraged his appointment since they believed that he would not create
issues for them, yet, as the auxiliary bishop, he encouraged resistance to the Communist
occupation of Poland. At times, he evaded the secret police to have private meetings with other
religious officials. Bishop Wojtyła also attended the Second Vatican Council and had an
influential role in writing some of the documents. He was soon elevated to the College of
Cardinals, and he participated in two papal conclaves, first as just a cardinal elector, and then as
a papal candidate.
Pope John Paul I was elected on August 26, 1978 to the shortest papacy in the history of
the Catholic Church. On October 6, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła was elected to the papacy at
the young age of 58. He took the name John Paul II to honor his predecessor, whose untimely
death 33 days after his election cut his papacy short. He was the 263rd successor to Saint Peter,
and the first non-Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI in 1523. In his 27 year papacy - the third
longest in Catholic history - he was a prolific writer, publishing 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic
exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, and 45 apostolic letters. He also beatified 1338 people
and canonized 482 saints in his devotion to the universal call to holiness.
Pope John Paul II was also devoted to the missionary life assigned to all Catholics. He
went on 104 apostolic journeys to 129 countries and had a specific love for the youth. He
established World Youth Day, an international event held for young Catholics every two to four
years. He also established the World Meeting of Families, a gathering held every three years to
celebrate family as the foundation of society and the Church, as well as the Pontifical John Paul
II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. He continuously worked for peace, leading to the
gradual removal of Communism from Eastern Europe and even preventing a war between Chile
and Argentina. He was the first pope to ever set foot within a mosque, and encouraged peaceful
communication with Jews, Muslims, and those of other faiths. He devoted himself to the spiritual
renewal of the world.
Despite all his good deeds, no one with such prominence is ever without enemies. On
May 13, 1980, Mehmet Ali Ağca attempted to assassinate him while he was in St. Peter’s
Square. After a long surgery, three weeks of recovery in the hospital, and a second surgery and
hospital stay after an infection, Pope John Paul II was declared healed. Soon after, he visited Ali
Ağca in prison, forgiving him and showing a great display of love. In 1981, a day before the
anniversary of the first assassination attempt, Father Krohn, a traditionalist priest, broke through
the security line at a church in Fatima, Portugal and stabbed Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
John Paul II continued on with Mass as normal and only found a small wound later. Until 2008,
it was believed that Fr. Krohn had not succeeded in stabbing John Paul II.
In the 1990s, Pope John Paul II was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. After a long and
fruitful papacy, the pontiff passed on April 2nd, 2005, after uttering his final words, “Let me go
to my Father’s house.” Hundreds of thousands of young people were holding a candlelight vigil
outside his residence, and millions of people came to honor him in the wake of his death. On
April 28th, 2005, his successor, Pope Benedict, waived the customary 5-year waiting period to
begin the beatification process. On May 1st, 2011, he was beatified, and on April 27th, 2014, he
was canonized. The two miracles attributed to him were the miraculous healing of a French nun
with Parkinson’s Disease and the inexplicable healing of a Costa Rican woman with a brain
aneurysm. Both women had prayed for the intercession of the late John Paul II.
Saint Pope John Paul II’s legacy of faith and peace lives on after his death. His generosity
and care continue to mark the papacy, and his work with the Catholic youth remains. Saint Pope
John Paul II, pray for us!
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Very nice and informative. In my opinion he's one of the best saints.