Barnes Mawrie profiles Pope John Paul II on the day of his canonization
ALL ROADS will lead to Rome on April 27, the day of canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. More than 10 million people are estimated to flock to the city to witness the historic event.
John Paul II is definitely the most popular pope in the history of the Church. I was fortunate to have met St John Paul II in 1995 and in 2003, two years before his death. What impressed me about him was his exuberance, fatherliness, dynamism and yet a profound simplicity. He was a man of great integrity and was rightly considered a living saint. It was least surprising when the crowd shouted “santo subito” (a saint immediately) at his funeral on 8 April 2005. John Paul II has taken one of the shortest journeys towards sainthood in the history of the Church. Popular voices ascribe to him the title “The Great” while others call him “Man of the millennium”.
Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice in Poland. His parents were Karol Wojtyla Sr and Emilia Kaczorowska. It is said that when Emilia was carrying the future pope, the doctors advised her to abort the child since according to them she would not be able to deliver the child alive. The devout woman declined to do so and God really had a plan for that child.
Karol was an athlete and loved to play football. During his school days he mingled a lot with Jewish children and had many close friends among them. In 1938 Karol and his father moved to Krakow and there he enrolled himself at Jagiellonian University. He studied Philology and various other languages and in fact he learnt 12 foreign languages. At the university he displayed a great talent as an actor and a playwright. During the German invasion of Poland from 1939-1945 all universities in Poland were closed down. It was during this time that Karol joined the clandestine underground seminary of Adam Stefan Cardinal Sapieha, cardinal of Krakow in order to become a priest.
He was ordained a priest on 1 November 1946 by Cardinal Sapieha. Since then there was no turning back for Karol. He was soon sent to Rome to pursue his studies. In 1948 he earned his doctorate in Philosophy from Angelicum on the topic The Doctrine of Faith in St. John of the Cross. On 4 July 1958, Karol was made the auxiliary bishop of Krakow. From 1962-65 he took part in the Second Vatican Council and made his contribution to the two important documents, Dignitatis Humanae and Gaudium et Spes. In 1964 Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Krakow and in 1967 he was promoted to the Sacred College of Cardinals. In August 1978 following the death of Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Wojtyla took part in the conclave that elected John Paul I. But 33 days later the new pope’s sudden demise brought the cardinals to the conclave again. On 16 October 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla was elected the 264th Pope at the age of 58. His papacy was one of the longest in history. He died in office at the age of eighty five on 2nd April 2005.
A relentless fighter
THE POST-MODERN age to which John Paul II came as a shepherd is an age of turmoil and controversies. It is an age of exaggerated personal freedom and relativism. The adverse influence of the media is being felt in every stratum of life. Secularism is on the rise and the role of the Church as a meta-narrative is being questioned. It was in the face of such challenges that John Paul II stood firm as a relentless fighter to guide the Church through the disturbed waters towards its God-given goal. Politically he made the Church a powerful instrument to counteract the evil forces of communism. He was instrumental in the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union.
His liberating influence was felt in other communist or dictatorial nations as well. In the words of Joaquín Navarro-Valls, John Paul II’s press secretary: “The single fact of John Paul II’s election in 1978 changed everything. In Poland, everything began. Not in East Germany or Czechoslovakia. Then the whole thing spread. Why in 1980 did they lead the way in Gdansk? Why did they decide, now or never? Only because there was a Polish pope. He was in Chile and Pinochet was out. He was in Haiti and Duvalier was out. He was in the Philippines and Marcos was out. On many of those occasions, people would come here to the Vatican thanking the Holy Father for changing things”. John Paul II stood up against the United States and its allies in the Gulf War of 1990-91 and the Iraq War of 2001-03. He also spoke against organized crimes of the Mafia in Italy. He strongly condemned the Rwandan genocide of 1990. On moral issues, John Paul II waged a persistent war against those who tried to destroy the Church’s teaching on sanctity of human life, sanctity of marriage etc. He was vociferous in his condemnation of abortion, euthanasia and same sex marriage. He often became the target of anti-church elements but nevertheless he was never bogged down by such negative propaganda.
An ardent teacher
IN HIS 26 years of papacy, John Paul II has produced 14 encyclicals on topics ranging from evangelization, social concerns, sacraments, Mariology to ecumenism and philosophy. Besides these, he has written 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, and 45 Apostolic Letters. These are his more authoritative teachings. His documents on evangelization like Redemptor Hominis (1979) and Redemptoris Missio (1999) are among the finest teaching the Church. His post continental-synodal exhortations are rich with reflections on mission. These vast ranges of papal documents only show his zeal as a teacher. In these official writings John Paul II was able to instruct the faithful on various important issues of faith and morals. Besides these written instructions, he also went around the world teaching people verbally. His many apostolic journeys to different countries of the world, his World Youth Days and his pilgrimages were occasions during which he was able to exercise his ministry as the supreme teacher. In spite of old age and sickness, he never ceased journeying because he was convinced of the significance and efficacy of this ministry.
A globe trotter
JOHN PAUL II is one of the most widely travelled leaders of the world. In his 26 years of papacy he visited every nook and corner of the world and even came to Shillong on 4 February 1986. He was not a tourist but a pastor and a leader of a world community who wanted to be close to his people. Thus in his own words: “The Pope cannot remain a prisoner of the Vatican. I want to go to everybody… from the nomads of the steppes to the monks and nuns in their convents… I want to cross the threshold of every home.” In his life time he really fulfilled this aspiration. His pilgrimages brought him face to face with the different cultures and religions of the world. He also came into direct contact with the socio-political and economic problems of the people in the developing and under-developed nations.
John Paul II will be remembered as a unique person, a holy pastor, a courageous and authentic leader and a great and passionate lover of humanity. He has become a legend of the modern world. His legacy both to the Church and to the world is unprecedented. His tomb in Vatican continues to draw thousands of pilgrims every day. Now that he is proclaimed a saint of the Church, the number of pilgrims is expected to rise rapidly.