POPE JOHN PAUL II
Beatification of John Paul II John Paul II was born as Karol Jozef Wojtila in Wadowice in Poland on May 18th, 1920 and passed away on April 2nd, 2005. In 1978, at the age of 58, the College of Cardinals elected Karol Wojtila as the 264th Pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church. In 1981, the Polish Pope was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt.
He influenced the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Communist Regime in Europe. John Paul II was the most travelled Pope in history and visited over 125 countries. His charisma was well liked by young people. His pontificate was the third longest in the nearly 2000 years of history – more than 26 years. He was one of the most significant personalities of the 20th century.
On May 1st, 2011, only six years after his death, Pope John Paul II will be beatified. This is one of the fastest beatifications in history. One of the reasons for the beatification is that a French sister was suddenly cured from her Parkinson disease after prayers to the deceased Pope were apparently answered. Therewith the Pope became the “Call of miracles“ (fama signorum). Yet that alone was not enough for a beatification. The “Call of sanctity“ (fama sanctitatis), must also be fulfilled. This applies to the candidate’s way of life.