Blessed John Paul II

Karol Jozef Wojtyła, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine seminary of Krakow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Krakow. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Sapieha in Krakow on November 1, 1946.

Besides taking part in Vatican Council II (1962-1965) where he made an important contribution to drafting the Constitution Gaudium et Spes, Cardinal Wojtyła participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.

The Cardinals elected him Pope at the Conclave of 16 October 1978, and he took the name of John Paul II. His pontificate, one of the longest in the history of the Church, lasted nearly 27 years. In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on 2 April A.D. 2005, at 9:37 p.m., while First Saturday was drawing to a close and the Lord's Day was already beginning, the Octave of Easter, and Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church's beloved Pastor, John Paul II, departed this world for the Father.