\n
<\/p>\n
For Christian Catholics and
\nperhaps other denominations as well, 18th May is a special day. St. Peter’s
\nBasilica in the Vatican, which, like many churches across Europe, had been closed
\nbecause of the coronavirus pandemic, opened its doors for the celebration of
\nMass at John Paul II’s tomb to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth
\nof the former pope. From heaven
\nhe continues to intercede for the People of God and peace in the world,
\nsaid the current pontiff Francis about the most popular pope in history. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
John Paul II was born Karol
\nJosef Wojtyla in 1920 near Cracow, in Poland. He was ordained in 1946 after finishing
\nhis university theological studies. In 1948 he was awarded a doctoral title in
\ntheology from the Angelicum University in the Vatican and in 1964 was appointed
\narchbishop of Cracow, before being made a cardinal three years later. On 16th
\nOctober 1978, after the death of John Paul I, the papal conclave elected Karol
\nJosef Wojtyla as the 263rd successor of Saint Peter, making him the
\nfirst Polish pope in history and the first non-Italian pope since 1522. His tenure
\nas head of the Catholic Church and bishop of Rome began officially on 22nd
\nOctober 1978. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
An outstanding figure, Pope John Paul II dedicated his
\nreign to campaigning for a better world and promoting understanding between people
\nand peace. He advocated for closer relations between the sister churches, the
\nOrthodox and the Catholic Churches, and was the first pontiff in history since
\nthe Great Schism of 1504 to visit a majority Orthodox country, Romania. This extraordinary
\necumenical event took place between 7th and 9th May 1999
\nin response to an invitation from the then head of the Romanian Orthodox Church,
\npatriarch Teoctist. Pope John Paul II was also the first head of the Catholic
\nChurch to travel to Israel and visit a synagogue, as well as the first to enter
\na mosque. He was vocal against totalitarian regimes and also got involved in
\ncauses and conflicts with political connotations from across the world. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
He made over 100 pastoral trips outside of Italy and
\nalmost 150 in Italy, he saw almost 18 million believers during general
\naudiences and as head of state made 38 official visits. He was chosen The Personality
\nof the Year by Radio Romania International’s listeners twice. After 27 years in
\noffice, John Paul II died on 2nd April 2005 and was buried six days
\nlater in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica. He was beatified in 2011 and
\ncanonised in 2014. His famous words Be not afraid are still very much topical
\ntoday. (CM)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
18th May marks the anniversary of the birth of pope John Paul II, a leading international figure in his day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":85776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[30102,34118,31972],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-85775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-anniversary","tag-john-paul-ii","tag-pope"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n