Pope John Paul II (baptised as Karol Józef Wojtyla) was born on 18 May 1920 in Wodowice near Kraków. He led the Catholic Church for twenty-six and a half years.
This is the second longest pontificate after Pope Pius IX, who held the Roman cathedra for 32 years. John Paul II is the first Slavic Pope in history and the first non-Italian Pope since the Dutchman Hadrian VI, who was Pope from 1522 to 1523.
10 little-known facts about John Paul II
1.Phenomenal memory.
John Paul II already had a passion for drama and literature as a teenager. He once saved a play thanks to his phenomenal memory. One of the actors refused to take part in the action two days before the premiere performance. We can assume that at that time they did not have understudies. However, everything turned out all right, because the brain of young Karol memorised every line of text of each actor during rehearsals, and he offered to play an additional role.
It is also said that John Paul II knew all 2000 bishops of the world by name. he had a map on which he marked all the dioceses of the world. He didn’t limit himself to the church hierarchy: the Swiss Guard, clergy and casual acquaintances he barely knew were amazed at the details he mentioned decades later.
2. the saint who was assassinated
On 13 May 1981, the anniversary of Our Lady’s revelations at Fatima, there was an assassination attempt on John Paul II.
“one hand guided the bullet, the other hand guided it,” was how he recalled the event, thanks to his salvation through the intercession of Our Lady.
3. He caused much trouble for the Swiss Guard.
John Paul II was one of those leaders who run away from his bodyguards. Often these escapes were for a basic holiday in the mountains or skiing. In his incredible busyness, he also understood the need for balance and relaxation.
4. Saint of Record
St John Paul II holds another unusual record: he gathered the largest number of people in one place . The Holy Mass during the 1995 World Youth Day in the Philippines, presided over by Pope Wojtyla, was attended by an estimated 5 million people.
It was the largest gathering in human history. John Paul II was the pope seen by the largest number of people.
5. The Poet Pope
During the Nazi invasion, when Karol had to work in a salt mine, he witnessed the death of a colleague from a dynamite explosion. He later wrote this poem:
Silently laid him down, his back on a sheet of gravel
The burnt wife came; the son returned from school
And the stones moved again. The carriage sinks in the flowers
And again the electric current cuts deep into the walls.
And this man took with him the inner structure of the world,
In which the greater the anger, the greater the explosion of love.
6. he read Marx during the conclave.
His desire to multi-task and mobilise his intellect was so strong that even to the session of the papal conclave, shortly before he was elected Pope, Cardinal Wojtyla brought reading material.
And of all possible books, he chose Marxist literature. As he himself told his friend, “if you want to understand your opponent, you must know what he has written”.
7. He earmarked the royalties from his book for the rebuilding of churches in Yugoslavia
Pope John Paul II was a giver throughout his life: he gave of himself, his time and his talent. For example, after the publication of the book “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”, which sold millions, he used the first proceeds to rebuild churches that had been destroyed by the conflict in Yugoslavia. We also know that he gave away new clothes bought for him and then wore the old clothes.
8. He skied until he was 73 years old.
One day an 8-year-old boy happened to see Joan Paul II on a ski slope. They went down together several times, and the boy’s mum couldn’t believe that her fantasy son was actually skiing with his dad. All doubts were dispelled when the pontiff personally introduced himself to the woman.
9. John Paul II never shied away from dirty work
The future pontiff was not afraid of tasks that required restraint. As a 19-year-old young man, he worked in a salt mine in occupied Krakow. Soon after the change of power in Poland from fascist to communist, Karol and his fellow clerics were able to return to their seminary, which had become a ruin.
The sewage system had frozen and the latrines were in absolute disarray. They had to be cleaned of frozen excrement, and that was also the job of the future pope and two-time PhD. so next time you’re doing some nasty household chores, just remember John Paul II.
10. the polyglot pope
St John Paul II could speak fluent Latin. In addition, besides his native Polish, the pontiff could communicate in Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and English