教宗聖若望保祿二世
教宗聖若望保祿二世，原名嘉祿．若瑟．沃以蒂瓦，1920年於波蘭南部華杜懷斯出生。1938年進入大學主修語言學，同時研究戲劇，加入了學校的劇團。1939年納粹德軍佔領了波蘭，並關閉了各間大學，沃伊蒂瓦被迫結束學業，同時被強制到採石場和化工廠工作。1942年10月，他一邊在化工廠工作，一邊秘密在地下神學院讀神學。
1946年在羅馬晉鐸，並於1948年在羅馬取得神學博士。返回波蘭，於克拉科夫服務多個堂區及參與各種牧靈和學術工作。1958年，他被任命為克拉科夫輔理主教；1964年，任克拉科夫總主教，其後出席了梵蒂岡第二屆大公會議（1962-1965年）。
1978年10月16日，他當選為教宗，取名若望保祿二世，並於10月22日就任。
1981年5月13日，若望保祿二世在進入聖伯多祿廣場準備演講時，被一名槍手開了兩槍刺殺，經六小時手術後始脫離危險。若望保祿二世寬恕了兇手。1983年聖誕節前兩天，若望保祿二世到監獄探望行弒他的刺客。
若望保祿二世具有非凡的使徒熱忱，特別是他對家庭、青年和病人的熱情。
聖若望保祿二世在任內進行無數次牧靈訪問，足跡遍及世界各地。他留給教會碩果纍纍，包括豐富的教會訓導。他頒布《天主教教理》以及東西方《教會法典》。
2005年4月2日，復活期第二主日（天主慈悲主日）前夕，他在梵蒂岡安息主懷。
2011年5月1日，教宗本篤十六世宣布教宗若望保祿二世為真福。2014年4月27日，教宗方濟各把他列入聖人的名冊。
集禱經
慈悲的天主，你願意教宗聖若望保祿二世，領導你的普世教會；求你賜我們因他的教導，打開心門，迎接基督、人類唯一的救主，並把基督的恩寵傳揚於普世；他是天主，和你及聖神，永生永王。亞孟。
Saint John Paul II, Pope
“Open wide the doors to Christ,” urged John Paul II during the homily at the Mass where he was installed as pope in 1978.
Born in Wadowice on May 18, 1920, Poland, Karol Jozef Wojtyla had lost his mother, father, and older brother before his 21st birthday. Karol’s promising academic career at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. While working in a quarry and a chemical factory, he studied in an “underground” seminary in Kraków. Ordained as a priest in 1946, he was sent to Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology.
On 4 July 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed Father Wojtyła auxiliary bishop of Krakow, with the titular see of Ombi. Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak ordained him in Wawel Cathedral (Krakow) on 28 September 1958.
On 13 January 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed Bishop Wojtyła as Archbishop of Krakow and subsequently, on 26 June 1967, created him a Cardinal. Bishop Wojtyła took part in the Second Vatican Council (1962- 1965) and made a significant contribution to the drafting of the Constitution Gaudium et Spes.
On 16 October 1978, Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope and on 22 October he began his ministry as universal Pastor of the Church. In time, he made pastoral visits to 124 countries, including several with small Christian populations.
On 3 May 1981, an attempt was made on Pope John Paul II’s life in Saint Peter’s Square. Saved by the maternal hand of the Mother of God, following a lengthy stay in the hospital, he forgave the attempted assassin and, aware of having received a great gift, intensified his pastoral commitments with heroic generosity.
John Paul II promoted ecumenical and interfaith initiatives, especially the 1986 Day of Prayer for World Peace in Assisi. He visited Rome’s main synagogue and the Western Wall in Jerusalem; he also established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel. He improved Catholic-Muslim relations, and in 2001 visited a mosque in Damascus, Syria.
Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, 2 April 2005, the vigil of Sunday in albis or Divine Mercy Sunday, which he had instituted.
Pope Benedict XVI beatified John Paul II in 2011, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.
Collect
O God, who are rich in mercy and who willed that St. John Paul the Second should preside as Pope over your universal Church, grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching, we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ, the sole Redeemer of mankind. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
資料來源 References
https://www.stjohnpaulstamps.com/
中文內容：《平日彌撒經文》，香港教區禮儀委員會、
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E8%8B%A5%E6%9C%9B%E4%BF%9D%E7%A5%BF%E4%BA%8C%E4%B8%96
English text:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-paul-ii/
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/biografia/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20190722_biografia.html
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2018-10-22