by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2020 / 03:47 pm MT (CNA).- One hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II. In a new book …

Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 04:15 am MT (CNA).- St. John Paul II was a man of prayer who was close to the people and loved justice, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass Monday. Celebrating Mass at the saint’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope noted that …

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 05:00 am MT (CNA).- “Thirty-nine years ago today I was on my way into St. Peter’s Square when the pope was shot,” Joan Lewis said over the phone on May 13. It is just one of many vivid memories Lewis has …

CNA Staff, May 16, 2020 / 12:00 pm MT (CNA).- The Polish bishops’ conference is encouraging the faithful to participate in a social media campaign to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope St. John Paul II on Monday. Pope St. John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla …

by Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, May 15, 2020 / 02:00 pm MT (CNA).- Pope St. John Paul II— who would have turned 100 years old May 18— was a man of great humility, whose nearly 27-year pontificate nevertheless left a lasting impression on the Catholic Church and the world, according …

CNA Staff, May 15, 2020 / 03:00 am MT (CNA).- John Paul II was a “liberating restorer of the Church” in the turbulent years after the Second Vatican Council, Benedict XVI has said in a letter marking the 100th anniversary of the saint’s birth. In a message to Cardinal Stanisław …

by Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, May 5, 2020 / 02:52 am MT (CNA).- Pope St. John Paul II, who led the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, is perhaps one of the most compelling figures of the 20th century. Born nearly 100 years ago on May 18, …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Apr 2, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Pope St. John Paul II embraced suffering with love, even during his illness, a cardinal and the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica said on the 15th anniversary of the saint’s death. The spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and …

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Feb 13, 2020 / 10:33 am (CNA).- In a newly published book, Pope Francis answers questions about himself and St. John Paul II, saying he learned the importance of joy and mercy from his predecessor, and they are in “total harmony” on the subject of …

By Hannah Brockhaus Angelo Ciappelloni heard those words while he stood in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo on April 8, 2005. With hundreds of thousands of people in the Eternal City, and millions more around the world, he was watching the Requiem Mass of Pope John Paul II. “‘Follow me’ – …