Fact Sheet About Pope John Paul II & The Schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Posted May 29th, 2008 by admin

Pope John Paul II

  • Pope John Paul was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland.
  • He was an exuberant young man who loved skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, swimming and kayaking. He became a dedicated student and was fluent in 11 languages.
  • In 1946, he was ordained and sent to study at Rome’s Angelicum University before returning to Poland in 1948. A year later, he became the pastor at Saint Florian Parish devoting much of his ministry to young people.
  • Karol Wojtyla became the youngest bishop in modern Polish history at the age of 38. Nine years later he was the youngest cardinal.
  • Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow visited the United States to attend the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976.
  • On October 16, 1978 he was elected Pope. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI, who died in 1523 and the youngest Pope in 132 years.
  • Pope John Paul was the most traveled Pope. He visited almost 130 countries and logged more than 700,000 miles in his travels.
  • Pope John Paul II may be the only Pope whose life was portrayed in a comic book. In 1983, Marvel Comics published his biography.
  • Many young Catholics who have never known another Pope call themselves part of the “John Paul II generation.”
  • He was the second-longest pontificate after St. Pius IX, serving almost 27 years until his death April 2, 2005. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, is the reigning Pope.

The Schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

  • The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are now comprised of 194 elementary schools, 21 secondary schools and five schools of special education.
  • In the 2007-2008 academic year, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s schools have served 79,847 students throughout the five counties of the Delaware Valley.
  • 94% of the Archdiocesan secondary schools’ class of 2007 went onto post-secondary education. The total scholarship amount awarded to the class was $210 million.
  • Since the turn of the century, Archdiocesan students have received over $1 billion in scholarships.