As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,344, and also canonised 483 people, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He put a lot of emphasis on family, identity, and questioned consumerism, hedonism and the pursuit of wealth. He maintained the Church's previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation. John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the spirit of ecumenism, holding atheism as the greatest threat. Born in Poland, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third longest-serving pope in history after Pius IX and St.

Wojtyła adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected pope on the third day of the second papal conclave of 1978 (becoming one of the youngest popes in history), which was called after John Paul I, who had been elected in the first papal conclave of 1978 earlier in August to succeed Pope Paul VI, died after 33 days. Eventually, Karol Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kraków and then Cardinal, both positions held by his mentor previously. Encouraged by a conversation with Prince Adam Stefan Sapieha, he decided to study theology and become a priest. The linguistically-skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish at university. He took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theater.

He was also struck by a German army truck and by a tram and barely survived these events. To avoid being kidnapped and sent off to a German slave labor camp he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. During the war, Wojtyła went through struggles of his own. Coming from the Generation of Columbuses, one in four of all his schoolmates did not survive World War II. Having graduated with excellent grades from a male-only high school in Wadowice shortly before the war, in 1938, Karol Wojtyła was highly respected. In his youth, he also dabbled in stage acting. He was later canonised as Pope Saint John Paul II. Pope John Paul II ( Latin: Ioannes Paulus II Italian: Giovanni Paolo II Polish: Jan Paweł II born Karol Józef Wojtyła – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005.

Francis chan book of james session 11