Blessed Pope John Paul II

"True holiness does not mean flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in the family, at school and at work, and in social and political involvement."
- Blessed Pope John Paul II (1920 - 2005)

Today is the feast day of Blessed Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II was born Karol J. Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. Karol had an unfortunate childhood with both his mother and his father dying when he was very young as well as his brother Edmund. After high school, Karol enrolled  in Jagiellonian University in Cracow and also in a school for drama. In 1939, the university was closed by the Nazis and Karol went to work in a quarry and chemical factory as a way to earn a living. In 1942, he started taking courses in the clandestine seminary of Cracow (because of his calling to be a priest), and was ordained a priest in 1946. In 1964, he became archbishop of Cracow, and became a cardinal three years later. In 1978, he was elected pope, and contributed greatly to the Church. In his time as pope, he visited 124 countries, canonized 482 saints, beatified 1,338 people, and helped bring peace to the world. He died in 2005, and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on May 1(Divine Mercy Sunday), 2011.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us!

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Picture of And Information About Bl. Pope John Paul II Taken From:

http://christtotheworld.blogspot.com/2011/05/pope-john-paul-ii-man-of-prayer.html

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=6996

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1949