John+Paul+II+(Pope+Saint+John+Paul+II)

"Tell those American journalists the pope doesn't run the church on his feet."-John Paul II(Udomah). These words were said by the late pope when questioned about his health. This quote shows how even in his deteriorating health, John Paul II still kept a positive attitude and a sense of humor. The famous pope denied to resign many times because he felt he still had to complete everything he was called upon for (Udomah). John Paul's background was not a happy one but a scarring one that he endured and did not let get in the way of what he strived to become (Svidercoschi). Though his teachings were challenged early on, he played a role in bringing down the influence of those who did (Buttiglione 180).
 * Introduction**

John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. His birth name was Karol Wojtyla, given to him by his mother, Emilia Kaczorowska, and his father, Karol Wojtyla I. As John Paul grew up in Poland, most of his friends were Jewish (Udomah). One of his friends, Ginka Beers introduced him to the performing arts. He loved to perform as much as he loved to perform (Svidercoschi).
 * Personal Background **[[image:8887f19346a79d69a7b9c92db88686dd.jpg width="208" height="316" align="right" caption="A younger John Paul II as priest" link="@https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/88/87/f1/8887f19346a79d69a7b9c92db88686dd.jpg"]]

Pope John Paul II was very athletic before he became pope. He attended the Marcello Wadowita gymnasium in Wadowice (Buttiglione 18). His Favorite sport was skiing however he was also very fond of football. Some other outdoor activities the pope enjoyed were hiking, swimming, and running. In fact, the pope was running in the Vatican gardens wen he received news of his candidacy (Szulc 10).

During World War II, several family tragedies had influenced John Paul II. However, he decided to become a priest after his father died from a heart attack. He had to study in an underground seminary. When Poland was freed, John Paul II helped restore his town's church. John Paul II was relieved as he had been a manual laborer during the war (Weigel). John Paul II was a very complex person. He had many different personality traits. When John Paul was elected, one of his first goals was to make peace between faiths. This shows his trait of being peaceful and compassionate. John Paul was also very grateful to other churches that spread his teachings (Udomah).
 * Personality Traits**

Even before he was pope, John Paul II was a very strong and enduring person. For example, when Germany occupied Poland, he had to go into hiding until Poland was liberated by the Allies. Another example was how John Paul was very resilient to all his family tragedies (Weigel 22). It was because of all these tragedies that John Paul made the most important decision in his life. John Paul II decided to become a priest however he had to be patient because he studied in an underground seminary. In his papacy, John Paul II made many enemies. However, no matter how much people disliked him he showed love towards everyone. In one instance, John Paul II was shot in St. Peter's Square. Instead of hating his would-be assassin John Paul forgave him and the two developed a friendship. In fact, he was released from prison early at the request of the pope (Messori 39).

Throughout his life, John Paul II faced many obstacles, though he was not able to overcome all of them. One of his first and most influential happened during World War II. As John Paul II was the sole survivor of his family, he had to take refuge somewhere. John Paul had no money and no relatives to stay with. That was when he discovered the underground seminary where he studied.
 * Obstacles**

After John Paul II became pope, some of his duties were to visit places where he was needed spiritually (Udomah). Because he had great authori ty and influence he made enemies. This led to an assassin attempting to take his life. John Paul II survived but was shot again some years later at St. Peters Square. After the second shooting his health slowly deteriorated (Buttiglione 49).

Not all the pope's obstacles were physical. When John Paul II became a candidate to become pope, people were afraid of a non-Italian pope. After he became pope, John Paul II received criticism based off the rest of the church's actions (Szulc 289). Leaders from other countries attempted to humiliate John Paul II. In 1983, Poland's communist government accused John Paul II of having an affair. This was proven false however (Messori 125). During his later years, the pope developed Parkinson's disease. Though this was not the cause of his death, it affected him greatly (Udomah).

John Paul II has made history in several ways. When the late pope was elected into papacy he made history by becoming the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. Many did not expect expect this but when he was made a candidate, he received 99 out of 111 total votes. Another way in which John Paul made history was by being the first pope to visit the Great Synagogue of Rome. By doing this he showed love and respect for the Jews. Furthermore, he was also the firs t pope to the Umayyad Grand Mosque in Damascus. The pope visited many places that popes before him would never (Udomah).
 * Historical Significance**

When the pope began his crusade of compassion, the church followed his ways. John Paul II revolutionized the church and its way of judgement. Not only did he change the Church, but he changed entire governments. During his time as pope, John Paul combatted the forces of communism. He helped many governments see that democracy is the most effective form of government. He began by helping his home country, Poland, become a democracy because it had been under the rule of a dictator. Then, the pope helped rid all of Eastern Europe from communist governments (Svidercoschi). Similarly the pope played the role in the downfall of dictatorships. It takes a very enlightened person to be able to influence and guide leaders to reform their governments (Buttiglione 180).

After his death, the pope was to be canonized. He had to be responsible for 2 miracles to be declared a saint. The first miracle he was responsible for was the healing of a French nun who had Parkinson's disease. She described that one day she wrote the pope's name and the next day she had been healed. The second miracle was performed on a woman who had suffered from an aneurism in her brain. She had been healed after she and her family had prayed to a shrine dedicated to John Paul II in 2011. The pope was then declared a saint on April 27, 2014 (Szulc 178).

Even now, the teachings of John Paul II influence people around the world. John Paul II is credited with having influenced more young people than any other pope. This could also be because he was one of the youngest pope's ever elected, being elected at age 58. This led to John Paul being pope for 27 years and 7 months. The second longest time in history, the first being Pope Pius IX, being pope for 31 years and 7 months (Weigel 159).

Buttiglione, Rocco**.** //The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II.// Grand Rapids; Mich.: Eerdmans, 1997. Print. **S.E. #2** Messori, Vittorio**.** //Crossing the Threshold of Hope.// New York: Knopf, 1994. Print. **S.E. #4** Svidercoschi, Gian Franco. "The Jewish Roots of Karol Wojtyla." //The Roots of Anti-Judaism in the Christian Environment.// Jubilee 2000. Web. 01 Jan. 2015. **S. E. #1** Szulc, Tad**.** //John Paul II: The Biography.// New York: Scribner, 1995. Print. **S.E. #5** Udomah, Justin**.** "The Pontificate of John Paul II: A Pastoral Model for Effective Leadership." //Journal of Values-Based// //Leadership.// 7.1 (2014):1-13.Web. 10 Oct. 2014. **S.E. #3** Weigel, George**.** //Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II.// New York: Cliff Streets. 1999. Print. **S.E. #6**
 * References**