Pope Saint John Paul II the Great Print

Karol Józef Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II in 1978.  He was the second longest reigning pope.  He was also the most traveled pope.  He caused the fall of many dictatorships.  He put together the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, defined Vatican II and gave us the Luminous Mysteries of the holy Rosary.  He survived an assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, saying that Our Lady of Fatima had protected him.  In his later years, he suffered from the effects of the assassination attempt and Parkinson’s disease.

He died on April 2, 2005 and was beatified on May 1, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.  He was canonized on April 27, 2014 by Pope Francis.  His feast day is October 22.  He is the patron of Krakow, Poland, World Youth Day, Young Catholics, families and World Meeting of Families.