Karol Josef Wojtyla was born May 18, 1920
in Wadowice, Poland, a town located about 35 miles from Krakow. His
father was a former military office
r who worked as a tailor and his mother,
of Lithuanian ancestry, taught school. His mother died when he was
only nine years old. In
1938, he and his father moved to Krakow so that he could enroll in Jagiellonian
University where he studied literature and philosophy and developed a strong
interest in drama.
After the German occupation of Poland in at the start of World War II, young men were pressed into military or other service. To escape that, Karol Wojtyla took a job as a stone cutter. By 1943, he enrolled in the seminary in Krakow, but to support himself, worked as a boiler operator at a chemical plant. In 1946, he completed studies and was ordained a priest. Although he did some pastoral work at St. Florian's Church in Krakow, he devoted himself to advanced studies and eventually earned two doctorates from Jagiellonian University, one in philosophy and the other in theology. By 1954, he was teaching at the seminary in Krakow and at the Catholic University in Lublin. In 1958, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Krakow beginning his service in the church hierarchy. He continued to teach and write extensively about theological and moral issues. In 1967, he was appointed Cardinal of Krakow.
Karol Wojtyla frequently traveled from Poland
to theological centers in the West and to the numerous Polonias of Europe
and America. In doing so, he became quite well known to Roman Catholic
leaders throughout the world, making him a long-shot candidate for the papal
throne. Pope Paul VI died in August of 1978 and the College of Cardinals
selec
ted Albino Luciani to serve as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He
took the name Pope John Paul I, but died suddenly and mysteriously after
just 34 days in office. The College of Cardinals met once again but
there was no clear favorite. In the eighth round of voting, Karol
Wojtyla was selected pope. He
chose the name John Paul II and became the youngest man to head the Roman
Catholic Church since 1866, and the first non-Italian pope since the Dutchman,
Adriaan Dedel (Pope Adrian VI), completed his term in 1543.
This small park and the statue commemorate a visit Karol Wojtyla made to Hamtramck when he was Cardinal of Krakow. His cousin, John Wojtylo, served on Hamtramck's city council for many years in the 1940s and 1950s. As Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla returned to Hamtramck in 1982. .
Sculptor: Ferenc Varga
Date of installation: 1982
Use in 2008: Modest statue in a small public park
State of Michigan Historic Site: Not listed
National Register of Historic Places: Not listed
Photograph: Ren Farley; March 21, 2008
Description Prepared: January 17, 2009