Here's is a little bio I wrote for work on the Pope

[LittleClarkie]

We print Catholic church bulletins, and wanted to be ready with bulletin art, covers and copy for when the eventual time came.

So my boss asked me to try and write a bio for them to use. I'm not even sure they're going to end up using it, but there's some nice info in it that I didn't know. So here it be:

"Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, Poland on May 18th 1920 to a retired military officer and a schoolteacher. His parents were devout Catholics whose example taught young Karol much about the Catholic faith and how to live it.

As a boy, Karol was an excellent student and athlete who liked to ski, hike, kayak, swim, and play soccer. However, tragedy struck early when his mother died when Karol was eight, and his older brother when he was twelve.

As a young man, Karol’s main interests were poetry, theater and the church. After the invasion of Poland by the Nazis, he used his passion for the dramatic arts by helping to form the underground Rhapsodic Theater, which focused on the Polish language and culture, a forbidden activity in occupied Poland. Karol was very close to his father during this time, and it was his father’s expressed hope that Karol would enter the priesthood. Unfortunately, his father didn’t live to see this dream fulfilled before his death in 1941. Karol entered an underground seminar to begin clandestine studies to become a priest in 1942.

Ordained in 1946, Wojtyla served as chaplain to St. Florian’s Church in Krakow, and as a professor at the Catholic University of Lublin. He was appointed Bishop in 1958, Archbishop in 1964, and Cardinal in 1967. His activities often focused on keeping Catholic beliefs and traditions alive in Communist Poland, while also continuing his scholarly work through writing, teaching and lecturing.

In 1978, Cardinal Karol Jozef Wojtyla was elected Pope after the death of John Paul I in September of 1978. Choosing his name in honor of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II was the 263 Successor of Peter, the first Slavic Pope, and the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years and, at age 58, the youngest Pope in 132 years.

In addition, Pope John Paul II was the most traveled pope in history, having visited more than 100 countries by the year 2000, often despite increasing ill health. He was noted for his defense of human rights and his conservative positions on such issues as abortion, homosexuality and contraception. Pope John Paul II was the longest serving pope of the 20th century."

[Sannum]

1. He lived an amazing life.

I disagreed with him on many issues, but he always seemed to be a very nice man. He lived an amazing life devoted to his church and that is to be applauded.

I did not know that he was once an actor.

[LittleClarkie]

4. I was surprised too when I researched it

That he was so athletic and that he had to go underground to become a priest because it wasn't allowed in Communist Poland.

[Octafish]

2. Thank you, LittleClarkie!

Your biography is well written. IMO, Pope John Paul II did more to bring down the Communist Soviet Union than any other single human being. On the other side of the spectrum, I believe he wishes the same way for the Capitalist West. Both systems put material things above humanity. Where does that leave the Spiritual?

[hlthe2b]

3. I remember (somewhat vaguely) his major trip to Denver, when he

jogged up the foothills in his specially designed golden toned running shoes with matching gold laces. Under those robes, it was quite the image.

[LittleClarkie]

5. Seems like a good time to kick this

one last time

:kick: