Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul Biography

Pope John Paul was a the son of a two modest but devout parents. He was born in Poland where the future pope became a popular priest. Pope John Paul II was a hard working priest who enjoyed sports and was a virile and vital young man. He loved music and he loved children very much. He saved many Jewish children from the Nazi's and from the many Polish Nazi collaborators who would have handed them over to the gas chambers.

Pope John Paul II original name was Karol Jozef Wojtyla and he grew up in a small and lovely little down named Wadowice, that was notable for having a large Jewish population. As he grew up with many Jewish friends, and being a man of strong Catholic convictions, it is not surprising that he resisted the Nazis by helping to save Jewish children, and in later years to travel to Israel as well as devote efforts to stop anti-Jewish sentiments.

People who knew him called him Lolek. The man would one day become Pope John Paul II was born in 1920. Wojtyla was an athletic young man who loved the outdoors, especially nature. He was often found hiking or skiing in the mountains, or swimming in the lakes and rivers of Poland. This fits in with a man who not only loved life, but he loved nature as well. The Pope expressed concern for the care of the earth on many occasions. Of course, the sanctity of life itself was his main concern. So it is no surprise to note that the young man who would become Pope John Paul II would live his life with an appreciation of God's creation.

During his early years he was involved in two accidents that nearly took his life. He was struck by a streetcar and later while in college he was hit by a truck. The injuries left him with a barely noticeable stoop in his shoulders. No doubt these accidents caused him to reflect on the fragility of life and may have served to help him focus ever more on contributing a positive effect on humanity and upon those in his daily life. Surely it caused him to think of those less fortunate than he, as only a stay in the hospital can inspire.

It had been his father's wish that young Wojtyla study to become a priest. For many years they lived behind a church, and could hear the bells tolling, calling the faithful to mass. Indeed, the church literally loomed large in the young man's life. The father, himself a devout Catholic, wanted to see his son join what he felt was the highest calling for any young man, the holy Catholic priesthood. One has to wonder if this retired soldier ever regretted never joining the priesthood. Indeed, he enjoyed rearing his son, and they liked to play ball together. But perhaps as Abraham offered his son to God, and God himself offered his son to us, the future Pope's father likewise played a most holy and sacred role in offering his son to the service of God in the Holy Roman Priesthood. Unfortunately, he did not live to see his son enroll in the seminary, but he must have died happy knowing that his son would one day become a priest. How much joy would he have felt if he had known that his son would one day become the Catholic Church's beloved Pope?