(1920-2005), pope 

Patron of the UST Institute of Physical Education and Athletics

Feast Day: October 22

Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in Wadowice, Poland on 18 May 1920. He lost his mother Emilia at age 9; his brother Edmund at 12; and his father Karol at 21. After high school, he enrolled in the Jagellonian University of Krakow (1938).  When the Nazi forces closed the University in 1939, he worked (1940-1944) in a quarry and then in a chemical factory to earn a living and to avoid deportation to Germany. Heeding the call of the priesthood, he studied in the clandestine major seminary of Krakow (1942). After the war, he attained a doctorate in Philosophy (1948) at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum). Eventually, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow (1958), then Archbishop of Krakow (1964), and he was created a Cardinal (1967). He also took part in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). 

In 1978, Karol was elected Pope, and made pastoral visits including 104 international apostolic journeys.  On 13 May 1981, an attempt was made on his life in St. Peter’s Square. Saved by the maternal hand of the Mother of God, he forgave the attempted assassin and, aware of having received a great gift, intensified his pastoral commitments with heroic generosity. He died in  2005, on Divine Mercy Sunday, which he had instituted. He was beatified in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, and was canonized in 2014 by Pope Francis.

The sportsman pope, John Paul II, elevated sports to a level that was never before considered by the Church. He credits sports with a value of important significance in the promotion of the person and opened the door to subsequent reflection in the relationship between sports and spirituality: “In recent years, [sports] has continued to grow even more as one of the characteristic phenomena of the modern era, almost a ‘sign of the times’ capable of interpreting humanity’s new needs and new expectations.” He urged those involved in this activity “to make sports an opportunity for meeting and dialogue, over and above every barrier of language, race or culture.” He underscored that “sports can make an effective contribution to peaceful understanding between peoples and to establishing the new civilization of love.” St. John Paul II is the patron the UST Institute of Physical Education and Athletics.

Sources:

• Booklet for the Canonization of Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II, 27 April 2014, pp. 31-34.
• John Paul II, Homily at the Jubilee for the World of Sports: Even the Greatest Champions need Christ, 29 October 2000; “L’Osservatore Romano” Weekly English Edition, n. 44, 1 November 2000, 1.