The Feast Day of St John Paul II .

Today we celebrate The Feast Day of St John Paul II, one of the most beloved popes. Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland in 1920.

He was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1967, and in 1978 became the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years. In 1981, an assassin shot John Paul twice in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Fortunately, he was able to recover from his injuries and later forgave his attacker.

In his 27 years of papal ministry, Pope John Paul II wrote 14 encyclicals and five books, canonized 482 saints, and beatified 1,338 people. Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, at the age of 84, at his Vatican City residence. More than 3 million people waited in line to say good-bye to their beloved religious leader at St. Peter’s Basilica before his funeral on April 8.