Famous people from Poland

Hello hello everybody!

This week, we are in Poland! I am not a fan of this country because when I think about it, I think about: cold weather, winter, Auschwitz, horror and a lot of drama. I would like to refer to my last blog about Anne Frank in Germany… I still think about this terrible story.

But now, I am going to tell you more about somebody who was very popular in Poland and actually over the whole world. I am talking about Pope John Paul II!

Pope Saint John Paul II isn’t his real name. His name is Karol Józef Wojtyła, he was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice and died on 2 April 2005 in Vatican City. He was a Roman Catholic priest, bishop, and Cardinal who eventually became Pope. He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who was elected in August after the death of Pope Paul VI. Pope John Paul I died after thirty-three days. After that Then Cardinal Wojtyla was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted his predecessor's name out of tribute.

In the years since his death, John Paul II has been made as a saint by the Church. They called him Pope Saint John Paul II or Saint John Paul the Great. He was the second longest-serving pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX, who served for nearly 32 years from 1846 to 1878. Born in Poland, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522 to 1523.

John Paul II helped to end the Communist rule in Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam and the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, he visited 129 countries during his authorities.

A key goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic Church. His wish was "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great religious armada".

This was my blog of this week. See you next time!

Sources:

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/pope-john-paul-ii.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II