Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in Wadowice, 50 km from Kraków, on May 18, 1920. He lost his mother at eight, his brother at twelve and his father at twenty. Under the German occupation he worked in a quarry and a chemical plant while studying for the priesthood in secret; he was ordained on November 1, 1946. He became archbishop of Kraków in 1964 and a cardinal in 1967.
Elected Pope on October 16, 1978, he took Totus Tuus, 'entirely yours,' as his Marian motto. On May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Ağca shot him in St. Peter's Square; he survived, and later visited Ağca in prison to forgive him. He founded World Youth Day in 1985, made 104 journeys outside Italy, and in 2000 established Divine Mercy Sunday for the whole Church. He died on April 2, 2005.
Benedict XVI beatified him on May 1, 2011, and Pope Francis canonized him with John XXIII on April 27, 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday. His tomb is in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in St. Peter's Basilica, on the right as you enter. In Kraków the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II at Białe Morza, beside the Divine Mercy Sanctuary, keeps a relic of his blood and the cassock he wore when he was shot.
