Papacy

The election of Karol as Pope marked a significant change in the history of the Catholic Church. For 455 years prior to his election, all the Popes had been Italian. However, after the last Italian Pope died after being in office for only 33 days, the College of Cardinals returned to Rome, wondering what this might mean. Was God telling them to head in a new direction? Karol was a major figure in the Church, who participated in synods, led retreats, and was a friend of Pope Paul VI. Through his years as a priest in Poland, Karol continued his education and his writings. He wrote books, essays, articles, poems and plays during his years in Poland. He also was a professor and lecturer at the Catholic University in Lublin. In July, 1958, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow. Shortly afterwards, he was chosen as Archbishop of Krakow. Wojtyla continued his rise in the Church when he was eventually made Cardinal. In his role as a priest, teacher, bishop and cardinal, Wojtyla was an outspoken advocate of religious freedom in communist ruled countries. On October 16, 1978, the cardinals tallied their ballots and Karol learned that he had received the votes necessary to be elected Pope. Thousands were gathered outside of St. Peter's Square. At 6:15 PM, the smoke from the small chimney atop the Sistine Chapel started and the crowd saw the white smoke indicating that we had a new Pope. Cardinal Felici stated, "I announce to you a great joy; we have a pope!" The crowd roared, and then waited. The most eminent and most reverend lord, Karol, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Wojtyla who has taken the name John Paul II." The crowd was fidgety. They wondered who this stranger was. John Paul II felt the drama and tension. He stepped up to the microphone, brushed the master of ceremonies out of the way, and broke precedent by addressing the crowd instead of just simply giving the crowd the traditional apostolic blessing. In clear, loud Italian, he introduced himself to the crowd. "Praised be Jesus Christ! Dear Brothers and Sisters, we are all still grieved after the death of our most beloved John Paul I. And now the eminent cardinals have called a new bishop of Rome. They have called him from a far country. Far, but always near through the communion of faith and in the Christian tradition. I was afraid to receive this nomination, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ and in total confidence in His Mother, the most holy Madonna. I don't know if I can make myself clear in your...our Italian language. If I are a mistake, you will correct me. And so I present myself to you all, to confess our common faith, our hope, our trust in the Mother of Christ and of the Church, and also to start anew on this road of history and the Church, with the help of God and with the help of men."

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