Karol Józef Wojtyła was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. He was ordained in 1946, became the bishop of Ombi in 1958, and became the archbishop of Krakow in 1964. He was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1967, and in 1978 became the first non-Italian Pope in more than 400 years. He was a vocal advocate for human rights and used his influence to effect political change. He was Pope for 27 years from 1978 to 2005 making him the second longest-serving Pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX.
Pope John Paul II is the most widely traveled Pope in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. He visited the Philippines twice—in February 1981, when he beatified the first Filipino martyr, Lorenzo Ruiz, and in January 1995, when an estimated of 4 million Filipinos attended the Mass he celebrated at the close of World Youth Day which was considered to be the largest single gathering in Christian history.
He died at the age of 84 at the Vatican on April 2, 2005, the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday. He was beatified on May 1, 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) in Saint Peter’s Square by Pope Benedict XVI, his immediate successor and was canonized on April 27, 2014 (again Divine Mercy Sunday), together with Pope John XXIII.
Apart from his renowned travels, and his glorifying influence in the Catholic Church during his papacy, Pope John Paul II’s Sainthood was most revered due to the miracles he committed. His first miracle occurred in France when Sister Marie Simon-Pierre was miraculously healed two months after Pope John Paul II’s death, after a long period of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the same illness that the late Pope dealt with before his passing. The second miracle occurred in Costa Rica, when Floribeth Mora Diaz suffered from an inoperable brain aneurysm, saw the late Pope before her in a vision, and eventually led to her recovery.
In honor to His Holiness, Catholics are encouraged to venerate and profess their pledge of devotion to Pope John Paul II from October 20 to 22, 2019. Devotees seeking healing and other petitions may visit the image from 8:00am to 5:00pm at the Our Lady of Veritas Chapel located at the second floor of Radio Veritas 846, at Veritas Tower, 162 West Avenue cor. EDSA in Quezon City.
A Eucharistic Celebration will also be held in the chapel on the last day to commemorate the feast day of St. Pope John Paul II. Prayer requests, petition, thanksgiving and other intentions of her devotees will be offered at the Holy Mass and rosary prayer at the Chapel. The Catholic Faithful who will pledge their devotion will receive a certificate and a small image of the late Pope.
Patrons are also encouraged to give a PHP 500.00 donation pledge in support of the social communications ministry of the Catholic Church. Pledges can be picked up by the staff from the Religious Department along with their prayer intentions or deposit it to the following Radio Veritas bank accounts:
Name: DZRV Radio Veritas Foundation, Incorporated:
a. Metrobank Savings Account No.: 076-3-076270210
b. Banco De Oro Savings Account No.: 001-630011876
c. BPI Savings Account No.: 0213-3251-91
(Please notify us upon deposit)
For inquiries, please call Ms. Renee Jose or Mr. Jeffry Austria at (02) 925-7932 to 39 local 129.
Radio Veritas 846, the number one faith-based Radio in the Philippines, is owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Manila. Established in 1969, the Ramon Magsaysay recipient Catholic radio station continues to be the leading social communications ministry for truth and new evangelization in the country today.
