ST JOHN PAUL II

St. John Paul II Small Christian Community meets every Wednesday from 6pm, Rotating neighbourhood homes in and around Loresho.

St. John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 1920–2005) served as the head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first-ever Slavic pope.  

 FEAST DAY: OCTOBER 22^ND

Key Highlights of His Life & Papacy

• Early Life & Resilience: Born in Wadowice, Poland, he lost his entire immediate family by age 20. During World War II, he worked as a manual laborer in a limestone quarry and a chemical plant to avoid deportation while studying in a secret seminary.
• Political Impact: He is widely credited with playing a pivotal role in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. His 1979 visit to Poland inspired the Solidarity movement and ignited a peaceful resistance against the Soviet regime.
• Global Outreach: Known as the “Pilgrim Pope,” he visited 129 countries during his 26-year pontificate. He was the first pope to visit a synagogue and a mosque.
• Theological Legacy: He established World Youth Day in 1985 and authored the Theology of the Body, a series of 129 lectures on human sexuality and dignity. He also promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992.
• Assassination Attempt: On May 13, 1981, he survived being shot in St. Peter’s Square by Mehmet Ali Ağca. He later visited his attacker in prison to offer personal forgiveness.
• Sainthood: After a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, he died on April 2, 2005. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 and canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014.

Let us walk together in truth