St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II (1920-2005), born Karol Wojtyla at Wadowice in Poland, was Bishop of Rome from 1978 until his death. His Marian devotion is compressed into his papal motto, Totus Tuus - totally yours.

Life

He was baptized in the Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Wadowice, at a font now enclosed in its own chapel. The Wojtyla family lived in a first-floor apartment of two rooms and a kitchen at Koscielna 7, where he did his homework, where his father taught him to pray, and where he mourned his mother and his brother. In the side chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in that same basilica, the young Karol prayed daily, and the Marian devotion he formed there became his motto. In 1978 the Archbishop of Krakow was elected pope, and the world turned its attention to the city on the Vistula. He carried the Divine Mercy devotion of St. Faustina worldwide, canonized her in 2000, and established Divine Mercy Sunday the same year.

Feast Day

October 22 - the Feast of St. John Paul II, the day of his inauguration as pope.

Relics

The John Paul II Centre beside the Divine Mercy Sanctuary at Lagiewniki in Krakow holds relics of the saint-pope, including a vial of his blood.

Where the devotion is kept

Wadowice, Poland - his birthplace, the basilica of his baptism, and the family apartment, now one of Poland''s most visited museums. Krakow, Poland - the archdiocese he led, and the John Paul II Centre at Lagiewniki. Washington DC, United States and L''Aquila, Italy - shrines carrying his name.

Sources

Written from the Destinationes guides to Wadowice and Krakow (site/content/places/poland/wadowice/en/content.md, site/content/places/poland/krakow/en/content.md), which carry the sourced account of the baptismal font, the family home, the motto and the relics.