Saint Pope John Paul II

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Pope John Paul II. He was born on May 18th 1920 in Poland. His parents named him Karol Wojtyla after his father. His life was full of tragic losses. He lost his older sister even before he was born and his mother died of a heart attack when he was only a child of eight and later he lost his physician brother to scarlet fever and his father died of heart attack as well.
In the 1940's Poland was taken over by the Nazi's and he had to undergo many hardships to escape being caught by the Nazi's or imprisoned by them. He had several accidents which could have taken his life but God preserved him for his great mission of peace and reconciliation for this world.
He was a prolific speaker, writer and an actor. He was introduced to Carmelite mysticism and wanted very much to become a Carmelite friar. However his bishop guided him to become a diocesan priest. He was ordained in 1946 and became a cardinal in 1967. After the premature death of Paul VI, Cardinal Karol was elected to succeed him as the Pope. He took the name John Paul II.
During his long tenure as a Pope from 1978 to 2005 he traveled to many countries around the world and started World Youth Day movement which is continued to this day and is one of the most powerful and spirit filled events for Catholic youth around the world. Many participants come back transformed after attending these events. Also he played a very critical role in the demise of Communism in Russia through dialogue, negotiation and prayer.
John Paul II commissioned a panel of Cardinals and Bishops to compile a comprehensive text that outlines the Christian and Catholic teachings and doctrines called the Catechism of the Catholic church. This is used both as reference and as study material around the world by Catholics to better live out the vocation and mission of Christ in modern times.
There was an assassination attempt by a radical Islamist on his life on May 13th 1981, however the bullet shot by the Turkish gunman missed his vital organs. Later Pope John Paul attributed his escape to the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary guiding the bullet. His words: "One Hand Pulled the Trigger, Another Guided the Bullet”. May 13th was the anniversary day of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima to the three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. Later Pope John Paul traveled to Fatima and he had the bullet embedded in the crown that is placed on the head of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. He forgave the assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca and visited him in prison and spoke with him for twenty minutes. Several years later Mehmet had a conversion of heart and even wanted to spend the rest of his life in Poland as a Catholic priest. He lived the message of divine mercy in his everyday life.
In his final days his speech and mobility was greatly impacted by Parkinson's disease however he continued to carry out his duties as a Pope until his last breathe. He died on the vigil of the Feast of Divine Mercy which he implemented based on the visions of Saint Faustina who he had canonized in 2000, a Polish saint who Jesus had commissioned to spread the message of His Divine Mercy to the world in preparation for His second coming.
Pope John Paul II is especially special to me since he was the Pope for most of my childhood, adolescent and adult life. His visit to India left a lasting impact on my life and the lives of several others. He had a very special friendship with Mother Teresa who is also a saint now. Together they were evangelizers of Christ, spreading the message of peace, love and tolerance to the whole world. 
Pope John Paul II pray for us!