St. John Paul II (1978-1980 A.D.)

Series: On the life of John Paul II

From 1978 - 1980 A.D.

The joyful news echoed around the world

Poland was very happy at the news of Karol Wojtyla's election to the papacy. It was such a great surprise, that for 15 minutes, the church bells pealed in many parts of the country. Joyful processions also made their way to the churches in thanksgiving to the Lord for this momentous event. In the rest of the world, newspapers were preparing biographical notes on the new Pope, Karol Wojtyla. The journalists discovered that, besides speaking in Polish, Pope Wojtyla also spoke fluently many different languages: Latin, Italian, French, German, and English. Also, the reporters and journalists were able to discover that this new Pope had already a host of written works: five books, more than 500 newspaper articles, some good plays written, and also poetry. Someone said to Cardinal Wyszynski, Karol Wojtyla's good cardinal-friend: "Tonight, the whole of Poland must be rejoicing." The good Cardinal Wyszynski knows this to be true; and the world also shares greatly in the joy and happiness of Polish people.

Quickly settling into a prayer and work routine

Before settling into a prayer and work routine, the Holy Father made changes in the papal household so that it now consisted of mainly Polish workers. His secretary from Krakow, Stanislaw Dziwisz, was moved into the papal apartment to learn the secretarial tasks and responsibilities in the papal household. So the papal administrative body in the household consisted of forty Polish priests and nuns, who reported to Stanislaw Dziwisz.

Schedule in the morning

With the papal household now reorganized, the Holy Father made it his routine to rise at 5:30 a.m., and to pray in his chapel until Mass at 7:30 a.m. After Mass and thanksgiving, he greeted the visitors in his library, and several of them would be invited for breakfast with him. By 8:30 a.m., the Pope would be at his desk, where he would work undisturbed until 11:00 a.m. Every Wednesday at midmorning, he would greet the public audience. For private audiences, which were held in the late morning, he met with diplomats, government officials, and Church leaders.

Schedule after lunch

The Pope took lunch at 1:00 p.m. Lunch was then followed by a short 20-minute siesta, and then he would go back to his office to study official papers for an hour or two. Then, he would rise to his roof terrace above to pray the rosary while walking for half an hour. At 6:30 p.m., he would receive top-ranking Vatican officials. Then supper would be at 7:30 p.m., which often would be a light meal with the presence of guests. Before 9:00 p.m., the Pope would go to his office to spend time reading until retiring for a good night's sleep at 11:00 p.m.

Schedule on Sundays

On Sundays, when in Rome, the Pope would greet pilgrims at noon from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square. He would then pray the Angelus and deliver a short homily. This was basically the core of John Paul II's praying and working schedule while he was in the Vatican. We are also to be reminded that he was a missionary Pope, and that he traveled a lot to many countries around the world.

The Holy Father's global ministry

As the first non-Italian pontiff in more than four centuries, John Paul II inspired so many Roman Catholics from Canada to Cameroon to think of him as their own. But it was by leaving Rome for foreign shores - a journey that he made 104 times, more than all previous popes combined - that he came to speak to all of humanity - both Roman Catholics, other Christians, and non-Christians.

Focusing on his global ministry

This series on the Holy Father's life will specially focus on his global ministry, which can be divided as follows:

• 1979-1980
• 1981-1985
• 1986-1990
• 1991-1995
• 1996-2000
• 2001-2004

A special section of this series will also be devoted to the last period of his life, especially when he became severely debilitated with Parkinson's and arthritis.

Missionary trip to Mexico

The Holy Father's first foreign trip was to Mexico, on January 26, 1979 A.D. He participated in the Latin American Bishops Conference (CELAM). His mission in this part of the globe was to set straight the influence of liberation theology - a very socially progressive theology that was influencing many parts of Latin America.

A visit to his home country, Poland

On June 2, 1979 A.D., the Holy Father visited Warsaw, Poland. He made forty public appearances within a period of nine days. Three days he dedicated to Czestochowa, then he visited Gniezno - the birthplace of Polish Catholicism. He also went to Krakow and the shrines of Kalweria. Then he visited Auschwitz. During his visit, he stressed that he was a Slav Pope with a mission not only to Poles but also to Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, and Russians. As a Slav Pope, he had a special mission to heal the centuries-old division between Christianity of the East and the West.

John Paul II visits the U.S.A.

In October 1979 A.D., the Holy Father was in New York, speaking before the General Assembly of the United Nations. He also visited Philadelphia, Des Moines, and Chicago. He then went to attend a service at Washington, D.C., where 700 nuns were present. Although the religious sisters wanted to promote to the Holy Father their desire to be included in all the ministries of the Church, the Holy Father firmly towed a conservative position by delivering a sermon extolling the religious life of nuns as a spiritual marriage with Jesus Christ.

The mission to Africa

In May 1980 A.D., the Holy Father journeyed to Africa, first to Zaire, then to Brazzaville in Congo, and further on to East Africa and Kenya. He continued on to Upper Volta and the Ivory Coast. What captured the hearts of the Africans was his trip to Uhuru Park, Nairobi, where he donned an ostrich-feather headdress and held a leopard-skin shield in one hand and a spear in the other. Despite this gesture of friendly inculturation, the Holy Father did not forget to remind the African bishops (behind closed doors) not to merge pagan practices with Catholicism.

Trips to France, Brazil, and West Germany

In France

The Holy Father went back to Europe and made a visit to France. In his four-day visit to the "eldest daughter of the Church", he addressed the delegates of UNESCO on June 2, 1980 A.D.

In Brazil

Next, on June 30, 1980 A.D., John Paul II was off to Brazil for a twelve-day visit. What he was concerned with in this country of Latin America was the mass defections to Protestant evangelism and the political activism of priests.

In West Germany

His next visit was to West Germany. What the Holy Father was concerned with in West Germany was the trend at that time of men and women who engaged in "trial marriages".

Edited from the following references

• The Pope Coming from the East, by Teresio Bosco, S.D.B.
• An Intimate Portrait: John Paul II, by Mark Bakermans
• The Pontiff in Winter, by John Cornwell
• Pope John Paul II: Champion of Faith, by TV Guide Magazine Group, Inc.
• Special Report: The 25 Years of Pope John Paul II, Vatican Information Service
• John Paul II: A Great Pope Passes into History, Readers Digest (June 2005)
• John Paul II: 1920-2005, Newsweek Special Double Issue (April 11/April 18, 2005)