Pope John Paul II Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Priesthood == [[File:Karol Wojtyla image (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Wojtyła in 1958]] After finishing his studies at the seminary in Kraków, Wojtyła was [[ordained]] as a priest on [[All Saints' Day]], 1 November 1946,<ref name="CBN" /> by the Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha.<ref name="ShortBio" />{{sfn|Stourton|2006|p=71}}<ref name="Vatican2" /> Sapieha sent Wojtyła to Rome's Pontifical International Athenaeum ''Angelicum'', the future [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas]], to study under the French [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friar [[Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange]] beginning on 26 November 1946. He resided in the [[Belgian Pontifical College]] during this time, under rectorship of [[Maximilien de Furstenberg]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://vaticancity.diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/belgen-in-rome| title=Belgen in Rome| date=4 April 2016| access-date=30 March 2017| archive-date=31 March 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331025239/http://vaticancity.diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/belgen-in-rome| url-status=dead}}</ref> Wojtyła earned a [[Licentiate of Sacred Theology|licence]] in July 1947, passed his doctoral exam on 14 June 1948, and successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled ''Doctrina de fide apud S. Ioannem a Cruce'' (The Doctrine of Faith in St. [[John of the Cross]]) in philosophy on 19 June 1948.<ref>{{cite news |title= His Holiness John Paul II, Biography, Pre-Pontificate| url = https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/santopadre_biografie/giovanni_paolo_ii_biografia_prepontificato_en.html#1948 |access-date=6 October 2012}} Even though his doctoral work was unanimously approved in June 1948, he was denied the degree because he could not afford to print the text of his dissertation in accordance with the ''Angelicum'' rules. In December 1948 a revised text of his dissertation was approved by the theological faculty of Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and Wojtyła was finally awarded his doctoral degree.</ref> The ''Angelicum'' preserves the original copy of Wojtyła's typewritten thesis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pust.it/index.php?start=5&lang=en|title=Karol Wojtyla: A Pope Who Hails from the Angelicum (Città Nuova, Roma 2009)|publisher=Pust.it|access-date=23 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407161736/http://www.pust.it/index.php?start=5&lang=en|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Among other courses at the ''Angelicum'', Wojtyła studied Hebrew with the Dutch Dominican Peter G. Duncker, author of the ''Compendium grammaticae linguae hebraicae biblicae''.<ref>"30Giorni" 11 December 2002, http://www.30giorni.it/in_breve_id_numero_14_id_arg_32125_l1.htm Accessed 19 February 2013</ref> [[File:Facade of the main entrance of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) (19May07).jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)|Pontifical International Athenaeum ''Angelicum'']] in Rome, Italy]] According to Wojtyła's fellow student, the future Austrian cardinal [[Alfons Stickler]], in 1947 during his sojourn at the ''[[Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas|Angelicum]]'', Wojtyła visited [[Padre Pio]], who heard his confession and told him that one day he would ascend to "the highest post in the Church".<ref name="kwitny">{{cite book| last=Kwitny | first=Jonathan | title=Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II | publisher=Henry Holt and Company | date=March 1997 | location=New York City | page=768 | isbn=978-0-8050-2688-7 | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805026887 | url-access=limited }}</ref> Stickler added that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a cardinal.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news | last=Zahn | first=Paula | author-link=Paula Zahn | title=Padre Pio Granted Sainthood | work=CNN | date=17 June 2002 | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0206/17/ltm.04.html | access-date=19 January 2008 }}</ref> Wojtyła returned to Poland in the summer of 1948 for his first [[pastoral]] assignment in the village of [[Niegowić]], {{convert|15|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=off}} from Kraków, at the Church of the Assumption. He arrived at [[Niegowić]] at harvest time, where his first action was to kneel and kiss the ground.{{sfn|Maxwell-Stuart|2006|p=233}} He repeated this gesture, which he adopted from [[John Vianney|Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney]],{{sfn|Maxwell-Stuart|2006|p=233}} throughout his papacy. In March 1949, Wojtyła was transferred to the parish of [[Saint Florian]] in [[Kraków]]. He taught ethics at [[Jagiellonian University]] and subsequently at the [[John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin|Catholic University of Lublin]]. While teaching, he gathered a group of about 20 young people, who began to call themselves ''Rodzinka'', the "little family". They met for prayer, philosophical discussion, and to help the blind and the sick. The group eventually grew to approximately 200 participants, and their activities expanded to include annual [[skiing]] and [[kayak]]ing trips.<ref name="USCCB_Bio" /> In 1953, Wojtyła's habilitation thesis was accepted by the Faculty of Theology at the Jagiellonian University. In 1954, he earned a [[Doctor of Sacred Theology|Doctorate in Sacred Theology]],{{sfn|Stourton|2006|p=97}} writing a dissertation titled "Reevaluation of the possibility of founding a Catholic ethic on the ethical system of Max Scheler"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/santopadre_biografie/giovanni_paolo_ii_biografia_prepontificato_en.html#1948 |title=Highlights on the life of Karol Wojtiła |publisher=Holy See Press Office |access-date=23 June 2013}}</ref> ({{lang-pl|Ocena możliwości zbudowania etyki chrześcijańskiej przy założeniach systemu Maksa Schelera}}).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2QunKUmsM4kC&q=Ocena+&pg=PA153 |title=Destined for Liberty: The Human Person in the Philosophy of Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II |publisher=CUA Press |access-date=23 June 2013 |isbn=978-0-8132-0985-2 |year=2000}}</ref> Scheler was a German philosopher who founded a broad [[philosophical movement]] that emphasised the study of conscious experience. The [[Polish Communist]] authorities abolished the Faculty of Theology at the [[Jagiellonian University]], thereby preventing him from receiving the degree until 1957.<ref name="Vatican2" /> Wojtyła developed a theological approach, called [[phenomenological Thomism]], that combined traditional Catholic [[Thomism]] with the ideas of [[personalism]], a philosophical approach deriving from phenomenology, which was popular among Catholic intellectuals in Kraków during Wojtyła's intellectual development. He translated Scheler's ''Formalism and the Ethics of Substantive Values''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Walsh |first=Michael |title=John Paul II: A Biography |year=1994 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=978-0-00-215993-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/johnpaulii0000wals/page/20 20–21] |url=https://archive.org/details/johnpaulii0000wals/page/20 }}</ref> In 1961, he coined "Thomistic Personalism" to describe Aquinas's philosophy.<ref>Wojtyla, Karol. "Thomistic Personalism." In ''Person and Community.'' Translated by Theresa Sandok, OSM. Pages 165–175. New York: Peter Lang, 1993. Originally published 1961 in Polish</ref> [[File:Karol Wojtyla-splyw.jpg|thumb|upright|Wojtyła pictured during a [[kayaking]] trip to the countryside with a group of students, circa 1960]] During this period, Wojtyła wrote a series of articles in Kraków's Catholic newspaper, ''[[Tygodnik Powszechny]]'' (''Universal Weekly''), dealing with contemporary church issues.<ref name="Zenit5" /> He focused on creating original [[literary work]] during his first dozen years as a priest. War, life in the [[Polish People's Republic]], and his pastoral responsibilities all fed his poetry and plays. Wojtyła published his work under two pseudonyms, ''Andrzej Jawień'' and ''Stanisław Andrzej Gruda'',<ref name="Kuhiwczak" /><ref name="Zenit5" /> to distinguish his literary from his religious writings (issued under his own name), and also so that his literary works would be considered on their own merits.<ref name="Kuhiwczak" /><ref name="Zenit5" /> In 1960, Wojtyła published the influential theological book ''[[Love and Responsibility]]'', a defence of traditional church teachings on marriage from a new philosophical standpoint.<ref name="Kuhiwczak" />{{sfn|Wojtyła|1981}} The aforementioned students regularly joined Wojtyła for hiking, skiing, bicycling, camping and kayaking, accompanied by prayer, outdoor Masses and theological discussions. In Stalinist-era Poland, it was not permitted for priests to travel with groups of students. Wojtyła asked his younger companions to call him "Wujek" (Polish for "Uncle") to prevent outsiders from deducing he was a priest. The nickname gained popularity among his followers. In 1958, when Wojtyła was named [[auxiliary bishop]] of Kraków, his acquaintances expressed concern that this would cause him to change. Wojtyła responded to his friends, "Wujek will remain Wujek," and he continued to live a simple life, shunning the trappings that came with his position as bishop. This beloved nickname stayed with Wojtyła for his entire life and continues to be affectionately used, particularly by the Polish people.<ref>Witness to Hope; The Biography of Pope John Paul II, by George Weigel. New York: Cliff Street Books/Harper Collins, 1999. p. 992.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=They Call Him "Wujek". |newspaper=St Louis Post-Dispatch |date=24 January 1999 |last=Rice |first=Patricia}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page