Lived 1920-2005

Pope 1978-2005

Beatified May 1, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI

Canonized April 27, 2014 by Pope Francis

• Theology of the Body: During a period of several years, JP2 dedicated his Wednesday audience homilies to teaching about the beauty of humanity and helping to reshape our view on human dignity amidst the culture of death.
• Worldwide travel: JP2 visited 129 countries during his papacy covering more than 700,000miles
• Universal Call to Holiness and the Communion of Saints: He beatified 1,338 people and canonized 482 saints (more than all of the popes in the last 500 years combined)
• Model of Redemptive Suffering: plagued by Parkinson's Disease, he remained faithful to office, living virtuously in his suffering for all to see
• "Do not be afraid."  The unofficial motto for his papacy came from some of his first words after his election in 1978 and were frequently repeated over the next 27 years.
• Divine Mercy Sunday: JP2 listened to Jesus' request through St. Faustina Kowalska to make the devotion to his Divine Mercy widespread.  The image was promoted throughout the world, and JP2 instituted Divine Mercy Sunday as the Sunday following Easter each year.
• Model of God's fatherly love and mercy
• Model of Joy and Humility

• Create a “Be not afraid” something (t-shirt, bag, picture, lock screen, sign, etc).  (This was a common phrase used by JP2 dating back to his first address as pope.)
• Look up a few of the 365 times “Be not afraid” is in the Bible.  What are you afraid of?  What is God encouraging you to be brave and trust Him with?
• Look up one of JP2’s homilies from World Youth Day on the Vatican’s website and read it (He started this initiative to empower the youth of the Church.)
• Pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet together as a family.
• Pray the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary, started by JPII 
• Go for a Hike or Walk - Pope John Paul II loved sports and especially enjoyed hiking. Praise God for making your body so beautifully that you can walk, run, play sports, etc.
• Practice Forgiveness- When a man shot the pope in an assassination attempt, John Paul II visited him in his jail cell and forgave him. He often spoke of forgiveness: “We all need to be forgiven by others, so we must all be ready to forgive. Asking and granting forgiveness is something profoundly worthy of every one of us.”  Who might you need to ask for forgiveness from, or who might you need to forgive (even if they haven’t asked you for it)?
• Listen to Saint Stories for Kids Podcast Episode 100
• Create a Catholic Cootie Catcher about JP2: https://www.catholicsistas.com/celebrating-pope-st-john-paul-ii-catholic-cootie-catcher/
• Learn How to draw JP2: https://youtu.be/KaT1q6eWGTM