On this day, October 16, 1978, Saint John Paul II was elected Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and successor 263 of the Apostle Peter.
“Praise Jesus Christ!” were the first words of Pope John Paul II when looking out onto the balcony that overlooks St. Peter’s Square from the Basilica of the same name.
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“Dear brothers and sisters: We are all still saddened by the death of our beloved Pope John Paul I. And here the most eminent cardinals have appointed a new Bishop of Rome. They have called him from a distant country, far away but always very close for communion in the Christian faith and tradition,” he continued.
Saint John Paul II had no problem saying, calmly, that he felt “fear upon receiving this designation, but I have done it in a spirit of obedience to Our Lord and with full trust in his Most Holy Mother Mary.”
“I don’t know if I can explain myself well in your… our Italian language; if I’m wrong, you will correct me,” he said later, amidst the applause and ovation of the faithful present.
“And so I present myself to all of you to confess our common faith, our hope and our trust in the Mother of Christ and the Church; and also to begin anew the path of history and the Church, with the help of God and with the help of men,” he concluded.
The pontificate of Saint John Paul II has been one of the longest in the history of the Church, lasting almost 27 years.
The life of Karol Wojtyla, John Paul II
Karol Józef Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, a small town 50 kilometers from Krakow (Poland), on May 18, 1920. He was the youngest of the three children of Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska.
After being elected Pope in 1978, Saint John Paul II exercised his Petrine ministry with a tireless missionary spirit. He made 104 apostolic trips outside Italy and 146 in the European country. Furthermore, as Bishop of Rome, he visited 317 of the 333 parishes of the Eternal City.
His love for young people prompted him to start World Youth Days in 1985. His attention to the family led him to inaugurate the world meetings of families in 1994.
Among its main documents are 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters.
Saint John Paul II promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, in light of the Revelation authoritatively interpreted by the Second Vatican Council. He reformed the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches; and reorganized the Roman Curia.
Saint John Paul II died on April 2, 2005 at 9:37 pm (local time), while Saturday was ending, and the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday had already begun.
From that night until April 8, the day the funeral was held, more than three million pilgrims paid tribute to Saint John Paul II, even queuing for 24 hours to access Saint Peter’s Basilica.
On April 28, Pope Benedict XVI dispensed with the five-year wait after death to begin the cause of beatification and canonization of his predecessor.
The cause was officially opened by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, then Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, on June 28, 2005.
Benedict XVI beatified him on May 1, 2011 and Pope Francis canonized him, along with John XXIII, on April 27, 2014in an event that was cataloged by many as “the day of the four Popes.”
More information about Saint John Paul II HERE
Central Editorial
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