October 22 is not the date of John Paul II's death but of the Mass that began his pontificate, celebrated in St. Peter's Square on that day in 1978, when he told the crowd not to be afraid and to open wide the doors to Christ. The Church chose it for his memorial when Benedict XVI beatified him on May 1, 2011; Francis canonized him on April 27, 2014, alongside John XXIII.
Karol Józef Wojtyła was born at Wadowice on May 18, 1920, fifty kilometres from Kraków. His mother died when he was eight, his elder brother when he was twelve, his father when he was twenty. Under the German occupation he worked in a stone quarry and then in the Solvay chemical works while studying in the clandestine seminary that Archbishop Sapieha ran in his own residence. He was ordained on November 1, 1946, and became archbishop of Kraków in 1964, a see he held until the conclave of October 1978 elected the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
He reigned for twenty-six years and travelled to 129 countries. He died on April 2, 2005, and is buried in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in St. Peter's Basilica at Rome. At Wadowice the basilica of his baptism and the family home in Kościelna Street are the two fixed points of the pilgrimage; at Kraków the sanctuary at Łagiewniki, built beside the convent where Faustina Kowalska received the Divine Mercy devotion he promoted and canonized, adjoins the John Paul II Centre raised in his memory.
Connected Destinations
Wadowice
Poland · Europe
Wadowice is the birthplace of Saint John Paul II, where pilgrims visit the basilica of his baptism and family home to honor the beloved pontiff's spiritual origins.
Kraków
Poland · Europe
Kraków is a profound Catholic pilgrimage destination, home to the Divine Mercy Sanctuary where St. Faustina's tomb resides and beloved by Pope John Paul II.
Rome
Italy · Europe
Rome holds the tombs of Peter and Paul, the four papal basilicas, the Holy Stairs and the catacombs of the early Church.