Biography

John Paul II was the 264th Pope (263rd Successor of Peter).

Karol Józef Wojtyła, known as John Paul II since his October 1978
election to the papacy, was born in Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometres from Cracow,
on May 18, 1920.

He was the second of two sons born to Karol Wojtyła and Emilia Kaczorowska.His mother
died in 1929. His eldest brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and his father,
a noncommissioned army officer died in 1941.

He made his First Holy Communion at age 9 and was confirmed at 18. Upon graduation
from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, he enrolled in Cracow's Jagiellonian
University in 1938 and in a school for drama.

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.

In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine
seminary of Cracow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Cracow. At
the same time, Karol Wojtyła was one of the pioneers of the "Rhapsodic Theatre",
also clandestine.

After the Second World War, he continued his studies in the major se-minary of Cracow,
once it had reopened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian University,
until his priestly ordination in Cracow on November 1, 1946. Soon after, Cardinal
Sapieha sent him to Rome where he worked under the guidance of the French Dominican,
Garrigou-Lagrange. He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on
the topic of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. At that time, during his
vacations, he exercised his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France,
Belgium and Holland.

In 1948 he returned to Poland and was vicar of various parishes in Cra-cow as well
as chaplain for the university students until 1951, when he took up again his studies
on 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 Cracow and in the Faculty of Theology of Lublin.

On July 4, 1958, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cracow by Pope Pius XII, and
was consecrated September 28, 1958, in Wawel Cathedral, Cracow, by Archbishop Baziak.

On January 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul VI, who
made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.

Besides taking part in Vatican Council II with an important contribution to the
elaboration of the Constitution Gaudium et spes, Cardinal Wojtyła participated
in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.

He was elected Pope on October 16, 1978 and on October 22 began His Universal Pastoral
Ministery in the Church.

Pope John Paul II has completed 104 pastoral visits outside of Italy and 146 within
Italy. As Bishop of Rome he has visited 317 of the 332 parishes.

His principal documents include 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic
constitutions and 45 apostolic letters. The Pope has also published five books:
"Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October 1994); "Gift and Mystery:
On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordina-tion" (November 1996); "Roman
Triptych - Meditations", a book of poems (March 2003); "Rise, Let Us Be
On Our Way" (May 2004) and "Memory and Identity" (pubblication spring
2005).

John Paul II has presided at 147 beatification ceremonies (1,338 Blesseds proclaimed)
and 51 canonization ceremonies (482 Saints) during his pontificate. He has held
9 consistories in which he created 231 (+ 1 in pectore) cardinals. He has also convened
six plenary meetings of the Col-lege of Cardinals.

John Paul II has presided at 15 Synods of Bishops: six ordinary (1980, 1983, 1987,
1990, 1994, 2001), one extraordinary (1985) and eight special (1980, 1991, 1994,
1995, 1997, 1998[2] and 1999).

No other Pope has encountered so many individuals like John Paul II: to date, more
than 17,600,000 pilgrims have participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays
(more than 1,160). Such figure is without counting all other special audiences and
religious ceremonies held [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee
of the Year 2000 alone] and the millions of faithful met during pastoral visits
made in Italy and throughout the world. It must also be remembered the numerous
government personalities encountered during 38 official visits and in the 738 audiences
and meetings held with Heads of State, and even the 246 audiences and meetings with
Prime Ministers.

He died in Rome, in Vatican, at 9.37 p.m. on saturday April 2, 2005. His funeral
took place in St. Peter's Square on Aprile 8, 2005.