LIVE | Holy Mass commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of Saint John Paul II, presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

SAINT JOHN PAUL II, POPE: Pope St. John Paul II  (1920 – 2005) is considered one of the most well-known pontiffs in recent history, and is most remembered for his charismatic nature, his love of youth and his world travels, along with his role in the fall of communism in Europe during his 27-year papacy. Pope St. John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow. He was the youngest of three children born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska. Pope John Paul II had lost his mother, father and older brother before his 21st birthday. His mother died in 1929. His eldest brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and his father, a non-commissioned army officer died in 1941. A sister, Olga, had died before he was born. He was baptized on June 20, 1920 in the parish church of Wadowice by Fr. Franciszek Zak, made his First Holy Communion at age 9 and received his Sacrament of Confirmation at 18. He was a vibrant, athletic, and intelligent child. His deeply religious father played an important role in his spiritual formation after his mother’s death when he was 8 years old. Upon graduation from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, St. John Paul II enrolled in Krakow’s Jagiellonian University in 1938 and was in a school for drama. His promising academic career at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. He studied literature, poetry, and theater before his studies were interrupted by the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939. The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939 and young Karol had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being deported to Germany. While working in a quarry and a chemical factory, he enrolled in an “underground” seminary in Kraków. 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. At the same time, Karol Wojtyla was one of the pioneers of the “Rhapsodic Theatre,” also clandestine. After the Second World War, he continued his studies in the major seminary of Krakow, once it had re-opened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian University. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Sapieha in Krakow on November 1, 1946. Shortly afterwards, Cardinal Sapieha sent him to Rome where he worked under the guidance of the French Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange and earned a doctorate in theology. He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on the subject of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross (Doctrina de fide apud Sanctum Ioannem a Cruce). At that time, during his vacations, he exercised his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France, Belgium and Holland. In 1948 St. John Paul II returned to Poland and was vicar of various parishes in Krakow as well as chaplain to university students. The short assignment as assistant pastor in a rural parish preceded his very fruitful chaplaincy for university students. This period lasted until 1951 when he again took up his studies in philosophy and theology. In 1953 he defended a thesis on “evaluation of the possibility of founding a Catholic ethic on the ethical system of Max Scheler” at Lublin Catholic University. Later he became professor of moral theology and social ethics in the major seminary of Krakow and in the Faculty of Theology at Poland’s University of Lublin. On July 4, 1958, Communist officials allowed him to be appointed titular bishop of Ombi and auxiliary of Krakow by Pope Pius XII, and was consecrated September 28, 1958, in Wawel Cathedral, Krakow, by Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak. On January 13, 1964, he was appointed archbishop of Krakow by Pope Paul VI, who made him a cardinal three years later on June 26, 1967 with the title of S. Cesareo in Palatio of the order of deacons, later elevated pro illa vice to the order of priests. Besides taking part in Vatican Council II (1962-1965) where he made an important contribution to drafting the Constitution Gaudium et spes, Cardinal Wojtyla participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. He attended all four sessions of Vatican II.

Cardial Wojtyla was elected Pope by the Cardinals at the Conclave of October 16, 1978 and he took the name John Paul II. He was the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years. On October 22nd, the Lord’s Day, he solemnly inaugurated his Petrine ministry as the 263rd successor to the Apostle. His pontificate is one of the longest in the history of the Church. He was head of the Catholic Church for 27 years (between 1978 and 2005), being the second-longest serving Pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX. On May 13, 1981 he was shot and severely wounded. In 1983 he visited Mehmet Ali Agca, who had attempted to assassinate him, in prison. Pope John Paul II became a spiritual protagonist in two global transitions: the fall of European communism, which began in his native Poland in 1989, and the passage to the third millennium of Christianity. He also instituted the annual February 2 “World Day of Consecrated Life”, the February 11 “World Day of the Sick” and at the same time his care for the family was expressed in the World Meetings of Families, which he initiated in 1994 and a World Meeting of Families every three years. Welcoming hundreds of thousands of young people to the Vatican for a special Palm Sunday celebration in 1984, has become the “World Youth Day”. His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days. The 19 WYDs celebrated during his pontificate brought together millions of young people from all over the world. He promoted ecumenical and interfaith initiatives, especially the 1986 “Day of Prayer for World Peace” in Assisi. Pope John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with the representatives of other religions, whom he several times invited to prayer meetings for peace, especially in Assisi. Driven by his pastoral solicitude for all Churches and by a sense of openness and charity to the entire human race, Pope John Paul II exercised the Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit, dedicating it all his energy. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy and 146 within Italy. As bishop of Rome he visited 317 of the city’s 333 parishes. He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of Nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1160), not counting other special audiences and religious ceremonies [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone], and the millions of faithful he met during pastoral visits in Italy and throughout the world. We must also remember the numerous government personalities he encountered during 38 official visits, 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State, and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers. He visited 129 countries, making him one of the most well-traveled world leaders in history. During his time as Holy Father he gave a multitude of important contributions to the Church including his teaching on the Theology of the Body, his emphasis on the Universal Call to Holiness, and his strong devotion to the Virgin Mary. He is also known as the “Pope of the Family.” He’s s often referred to as Saint John Paul the Great by many Catholics. He earned this title not just by being a religious figure, but by significantly improving the Catholic Church’s relations with the Orthodox Church, Islam, Judaism and the Anglican Communion. His dream was to create a religious alliance between all denominations. His dream was to create a religious alliance between all denominations. His exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people and the sick, led him to numerous pastoral visits throughout the world. Among the many fruits which he has left as a heritage to the Church are above all his rich Magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church and for the Eastern Churches.

Under his guidance the Church prepared herself for the third millennium and celebrated the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 in accordance with the instructions given in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio adveniente. The Church then faced the new epoch, receiving his instructions in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, in which he indicated to the faithful their future path. With the Year of the Redemption, the Marian Year and the Year of the Eucharist, he promoted the spiritual renewal of the Church. He gave an extraordinary impetus to Canonizations and Beatifications, focusing on countless examples of holiness as an incentive for the people of our time. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies during which he proclaimed 1,338 Blesseds; and 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. He made Thérèse of the Child Jesus a Doctor of the Church. He considerably expanded the College of Cardinals, creating 231 Cardinals (plus one in pectore) in 9 consistories. He also called six full meetings of the College of Cardinals. He organized 15 Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops – six Ordinary General Assemblies (1980, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994 and 2001), one Extraordinary General Assembly (1985) and eight Special Assemblies (1980,1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 (2) and 1999). His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters. He promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the light of Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He also reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law, created new Institutions and reorganized the Roman Curia. As a private Doctor he also published five books of his own: “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” (October 1994), “Gift and Mystery, on the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination as priest” (November 1996), “Roman Triptych” poetic meditations (March 2003), “Arise, Let us Be Going” (May 2004) and “Memory and Identity” (February 2005).

In the last years of his life, Pope John Paul II suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was forced to cut back on some of his activities. In the light of Christ risen from the dead, on Saturday, April 2, 2005, at 9.37 p.m., the eve of the Second Sunday of Easter or the vigil of Sunday in albis or Divine Mercy Sunday, which he had instituted, while 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, Pope John Paul II, departed this world peacefully for the Father. From that evening until April 8th, date of the funeral of the late Pontiff, more than three million pilgrims came to Rome to pay homage to the mortal remains of the Pope. Some of them queued up to 24 hours to enter St. Peter’s Basilica. After his solemn funeral was celebrated on April 8, 2005, in Saint Peter’s Square, he was buried in the crypt of Saint Peter’s Basilica. On April 28, the Holy Father Benedict XVI announced that the normal five-year waiting period before beginning the cause of beatification and canonization would be waived for John Paul II. The cause was officially opened by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, on June 28 2005, and Pope John Paul II was beatified May 1, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, his immediate successor and for many years his valued collaborator as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The canonization Mass for Blessed Popes John Paul II and John XXIII, was celebrated by Pope Francis (with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), on April 27,  2014 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City. In an April 24 message sent to the Church in Poland, Pope Francis gave thanks for the great “gift” of the new Saint, saying of Pope St. John Paul II that he is grateful, “as all the members of the people of God, for his untiring service, his spiritual guidance, and for his extraordinary testimony of holiness.” Pope St. John Paul II is the Patron Saint of Polish-Ukrainian Reconciliation; World Meeting of Families 2015; World Youth Days. His feast day is October 22nd.

QUOTES OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II, POPE:
☆”Faith leads us beyond ourselves. It leads us directly to God.”
☆”Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace. Peace will be the last word of history.”
☆”There is no true peace without fairness, truth, justice, and solidarity.”
☆”Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.”
☆”I plead with you, never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”
☆”Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.”
☆”Let science tell us what and how. Let religion tell us who and why.”
☆”Confession is an act of honesty and courage – an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God.”
☆”Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn’t misuse it.”
☆”We are all one family in the world.”

PRAYER TO SAINT JOHN PAUL II, POPE:

Oh, St. John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing! Bless the church that you loved and served and guided, courageously leading it along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who were your great passion. Help them dream again, help them look up high again to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth.

May you bless families, bless each family! You warned of Satan’s assault against this precious and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth. St. John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family and every life that blossoms from the family.

Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions, wars and injustice. You tackled war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love: pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace.

Oh St. John Paul, from heaven’s window, where we see you next to Mary, send God’s blessing down upon us all. Amen 🙏🏽

Saint John Paul II, Pope ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽