![]() Day after day I was able to observe the austere way in which he lived …his example was in a way my first seminary, a kind of domestic seminary.” - Karol Wojtyła “After her death and, later, the death of my older brother, I was left alone with my father, a deeply religious man. “My father’s words played a very important role because they directed me toward becoming a true worshiper of God.” - Karol Wojtyła (CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo) This portrait of young Karol Józef Wójtyła appeared in a poster for the Studio 39 theater group. This portrait of young Karol Józef Wójtyła appeared in a poster for the Studio 39 theater group. (CNS photo) Karol Józef Wojtyła is pictured at his first Communion May 25, 1929. Karol Józef Wojtyła is pictured at his first Communion May 25, 1929. Known to his friends as Lolek, and growing under the loving guidance of his father, he was a vibrant youth, athletic, studious and a gifted theatrical performer. His older sister, Olga, died in infancy and, by the time Karol was twelve, his mother Emelia had died of kidney failure and his older brother, Edmund, had died heroically serving those stricken with scarlet fever. Although he was born into a loving family, his early life was marked by suffering and loss. Karol Józef Wojtyła was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, the youngest of three children. “I had not yet made my First Holy Communion when I lost my mother: I was barely nine years old.” - Karol Wojtyła (CNS photo) Karol Józef Wojtyła is pictured as a boy in Wadowice, Poland. Karol Józef Wojtyła is pictured as a boy in Wadowice, Poland. Paul calls the "newness of life in Christ" (Cf. Through his life, he has shown the radiation of the fatherhood of God in humanity, or what St. ![]() In this way, the Church has received an inestimable gift in St. The life of a saint is one in which the Gospel is luminous. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads to true life, to true love.” - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI ![]() Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’ Or this saying: ‘No one can live a trial life no one can love experimentally.’ An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. “Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. ![]()
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