Pope John Paul II

By Usayd

As most of you know, the Pope John Pall II passed away on Saturday after a long illness, aged 84.

The pontificate of John Paul II was one of the longest in the history of the Catholic Church.

Few popes of any century have had such an impact, either on the Church or the times in which they lived.

He saw himself as the universal pastor, using air travel and the mass media to take his message to the world.

Familiar routine: Pope John Paul II kissing the ground, this time in Lithuania
He became a familiar sight - arriving in another foreign land, kissing the ground, and then preaching at an open air mass to perhaps a million people.

“Through those amazing journeys he showed the Catholic Church to the world as never before,” said John Wilkins, former editor of the Catholic magazine, The Tablet.

John Paul II travelled to virtually every corner of the world to meet his flock, re-defining the papacy for a modern age.


THE POPE’S LIFE

  • 1920 - Born near Krakow, Poland
  • 1964 - Archbishop of Krakow
  • 1978 - Elected first non-Italian Pope for 450 years
  • 1981 - Assassination attempt
  • 2002 - Final visit to homeland

  • Related Links
    :arrow: BBC’s In Depth [ website ]

    It is custom to have respect for people of all religions, especially those who’ve impacted so many people in a posotive way.

    This entry was posted on Sunday, April 3rd, 2005 at 4:27 pm / 24 Safar 1426AH and is filed under Religious, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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