Karol Wojtyla was born in the town of Wadowice, Poland on 18th May 1920. His studies for the priesthood were secret because of the Nazi occupation of Poland and he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Krakow in 1946. His early years as a priest were a mixture of further study and pastoral activity. At the early age of 38, Father Wojtyla was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958. He became Archbishop of Krakow in 1964 and three years later was elevated to the Sacred College by Pope Paul VI.
One paragraph cannot summarise the renown and breadth of the pontificate of John Paul II. Shall we say that it was not for no reason that, after his death, he was dubbed popularly, John Paul the Great. After several years of debilitating ill-health, Pope John Paul died on 2nd April, 2005 at the age of 84, and was buried in the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica.
Click on the images for an enlarged view.
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| Pope Paul VI bestows the Cardinal's Ring on the newly-created Cardinal Wojtyla, Saint Peter's Square. June 1967. |
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| At the Solemn Mass of Inauguration in October 1978, Cardinal Ratzinger of Munich greets the new Pope. |
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| Pope John Paul II at the Holy Door of S' Peter's Basilica at the Opening of the Special Jubilee Year of Redemption 1983. Note the special form of Papal staff, used on a few occasions by John Paul II. |
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| Pope John Paul II pictured around 1985 and shewing the familiar Pastoral Staff. |
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| Pope John Paul at the Opening of the Holy Door at Saint Peter's Christmas, 1999. The cope, along with matching Eucharistic vestments, was specially made for the occasion and has, thank God, never been seen again. |
The following images illustrate the changed aesthetic for Papal vestments which emerged during the and 1990's. The austerely decorated and unlined papal vestments of the 1970's and 1980's were set aside in favour of mitres and vestments which were more imaginative in design, rich in colour and made from better quality fabrics.
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| Ash Wednesday in the Basilica of Santa Sabina. A magnificant cope in violet silk, decorated with handwork in silver. The mitre matches the vestments, being suitably sombre for Lent. |
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| Pope John Paul II wearing an elaborate and beautifully ornamented chasuble for the Season Per Annum. |
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| In the Vatican Museum are preserved many of the vestments and mitres of Pope John Paul II. In this small case, one of his later mitres, pectoral Cross and pallium. |
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| The Funeral of Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square 8th April 2005: one of the most famous funerals in history. Cardinal Ratzinger, Dean of the College of Cardinals, celebratedthe Funeral and was subsequently elected as the new Pope. On this occasion, the Cardinal-dean is wearing the same red chasuble which was used by Cardinal Re for the most recent Papal Funeral. |
Santo subito chanted the vast congregation at John Paul II's funeral in 2005. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, Beatified John Paul II on 1st May, 2011 on which occasion his casket was exhumed from the crypt and placed beneath an altar within the Basilica itself. The numbers of the Faithful present at John Paul's Funeral and Beatification were so large that the congregation stretched back along all the Via della Conciliazione and onto the adjacent bridges which span the Tiber. Approximately one million people.
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The casket bearing the mortal remains of John Paul II is venerated by the members of the College of Cardinals in Saint Peter's Basilica after the Mass of Beatification, 1st May 2011. |
It is very unlikely that any reader of this Blog failed to observe, in one manner or another, the remarkable and historic occasion when the sanctity of two great Popes of the twentieth century was formally recognised by the Church.
The previous Papal canonisation was in May 1954, when Pope Pius XII made the same declaration concerning his predecessor, Saint Pius X.
AMDG
Next post : Pope Benedict XVI.
