Pope St. John Paul II

The Latest

Belén Perales is now host of the YouTube channel “El Rosario de las 11” (“The Rosary at 11 p.m.”), where she streams praying the Holy Rosary every night and shares conversion stories.

An atheist for 35 years, she reencountered God at the tomb of St. John Paul II

Oct 22, 2024

By Diego López Marina

Belén Perales was an atheist for 35 years. But her life changed dramatically on a visit to the tomb of... Read more

In 1984, Pope John Paul II met in Rome with 300,000 young people from all over the world in a meeting that laid the foundations for today’s World Youth Day.

5 ways St. John Paul II changed the Catholic Church forever

Oct 22, 2024

By CNA Staff

St. John Paul II was the second-longest-serving pope in modern history with 27 years of pontificate and the first non-Italian... Read more

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Saintly superhero: When Marvel Comics told the life story of John Paul II

Oct 22, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

St. John Paul II, who led the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, is one of the... Read more

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter makes a short speech from the stage during the Billy Graham Library Dedication Service on May 31, 2007, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Christian faith a hallmark of life of 100-year-old former U.S. president

A clear and consistent profession of Christian faith, both in word and deed, has characterized the life of 100-year-old former... Read more

Entrance to the "Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality and Message" exhibit at the St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington, D.C.

‘Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality, and Message’ exhibit opens at St. John Paul II Shrine

Sep 5, 2024

By Christina Herrera

A temporary exhibit is now open at the St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington, D.C., of many of Mother... Read more

Mother Teresa and John Paul II, May 25, 1983.

Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II: a look at their holy friendship

Sep 4, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

St. John Paul II and Mother Teresa weren’t just friends. As followers of Christ, they complemented each other in profound... Read more

St. Paul VI.

5 keys to better understand the encyclical Humanae Vitae

Jul 25, 2024

By Andrés Henríquez

At the time the encyclical was rejected by many even within the Catholic Church. Read more

Pope Francis blesses the ambulance that he donated in June 2024 to to treat the wounded in Ukraine’s Ternopil region.

Pope Francis donates ambulance, opens war trauma center in Ukraine

Jun 25, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner and prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, is traveling to Ukraine... Read more

The graduating senior class pioneered St. John Paul II High School in Colorado as freshmen. The 12 students are the first to have gone through all four years of the St. John Paull II program.

Catholic high school decades in the making breaks ground in northern Colorado

May 22, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

Twelve seniors who pioneered St. John Paul II High School as freshmen four years ago graduated on the 44 acres... Read more

Pope John Paul II's helicopter flies over the huge crowd in Manila's Luneta Park prior to celebrating an open-air mass for an estimated two-million people gathered for the 10th World Youth Day on Jan. 15, 1995.

Pastoral genius of St. John Paul II: 40 years ago, he laid foundation for World Youth Day

Apr 11, 2024

By Andrés Henríquez

Nearly 40 years ago, an event was held in Rome that laid the foundations for what today is World Youth... Read more

Original painting of the Divine Mercy by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in 1934.

Divine Mercy Sunday 2024: How to obtain a plenary indulgence

Apr 3, 2024

By Joe Bukuras

St. John Paul II and St. Maria Faustina Kowalska both became saints, and they were both instrumental in the institution... Read more

Pilgrims walk from Silver Spring, Maryland, to the St. John Paul II National Shrine on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, the day before his feast day.

Pilgrims trek 12 miles to St. John Paul II shrine to honor feast day

Oct 24, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

The walking pilgrimage began in Silver Spring, Maryland, and ended at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast... Read more

St. John Paul II during an open-air Mass on June 9, 1991, in Warsaw, Poland.

15 quotes from St. John Paul II on his love for the Eucharist

Oct 22, 2023

By Katie Yoder

Catholics worldwide remember St. John Paul II on his feast day, Oct. 22. His “secret” to life and all that... Read more

Bishop Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei in 1949.

A profile in courage: Cardinal Kung and Catholic resistance in Shanghai  

Sep 8, 2023

By Matthew Santucci

Nearly 70 years after his arrest, Cardinal Ignatius Kung is remembered as he preached fidelity to the successor of Peter... Read more

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz.

Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary makes private visit to Medjugorje

Jul 14, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Polish Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, archbishop emeritus of Krakow, paid a private visit to Medjugorje on July 11. Read more

A large statue of St. John Paul II at the entrance of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is recovering from surgery he underwent on June 7, 2023.

Pope Francis is recovering in same hospital room where John Paul II was treated

Jun 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis is recovering from abdominal surgery this week in the same hospital room where St. John Paul II was... Read more

Pope Francis meets members of the Papal Foundation in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, April 28, 2022.

Papal Foundation visits Rome, marks 35 years and $200 million in donations to the poor

Apr 19, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Papal Foundation, a U.S.-based organization that provides funding for Catholic projects, is in Rome for its annual pilgrimage and... Read more

Pope John Paul II, circa 1979.

Read the message for Divine Mercy Sunday that Pope John Paul II wrote just before he died

Apr 16, 2023

By CNA Staff

A message by Pope John Paul II for Divine Mercy Sunday, written prior to his death, was read at the... Read more

Pope Francis at the Regina Caeli on April 16, 2023 (L) and a tapestry of St. Pope John Paul II from his canonization on April 27, 2014 (R).

Pope Francis defends St. John Paul II against ‘offensive conjectures’ from brother of missing ‘Vatican girl’

Apr 16, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

“I address a grateful thought to the memory of St. John Paul II, at this time the object of unfounded... Read more

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, speaking at a press conference in the Vatican on Aug. 26, 2022.

Cardinal Hollerich: There’s ‘space to expand’ Church teaching on all-male priesthood

Mar 28, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

“Pope Francis does not want the ordination of women, and I am completely obedient to that. But people continue to... Read more