St Joseph Moscati

When Pope John Paul was born, he was named Karol J. Wojtyla. He was the youngest of two boys and one girl. He loved playing sports, and he especially liked to be goalie in football (soccer). Unfortunately, Karol did not have an easy life. His sister died before he was born, his mother died when Karol was only 9 years old, his brother died when Karol was 12, and his father died when he was 21. He also grew up during a very difficult time in Europe, when the Nazi army was trying to take over all of Europe and make everyone live under their rules. Karol had gone to university to study acting, but the Nazis closed the university down after a few years and Karol had to work in a stone quarry and chemical factory for 4 years so he wouldn’t have to go to Germany and serve in the Nazi army. He soon started to feel that God was calling him to be a priest. However, the Nazis would not allow people to be Catholic, so he had to study to be a priest in hiding. He also loved to act, and he helped to start a drama group called the “Rhapsodic Theatre”. He acted in the theatre and even wrote some plays. After World War II was over and the Nazis had been defeated, he continued to study to be a priest and was ordained in 1946. As a priest he tried to help families and young people get to know Jesus more. He became Pope in 1978 and took the name John Paul II; he was Pope for 27 years until he died in 2005. He was such a well-loved Pope because he loved to spend time with the people of the Catholic Church all over the world. He also continued working with young people and families, and he started a gathering called World Youth Day where hundreds of thousands of young people came to be with him and learn about Jesus. When he first became Pope, and all throughout his years of being the Pope, he always reminded people to “Be not afraid”. He always told people to open the doors of our hearts wide for Jesus to come and be at the centre of our lives.