Pope encourages Catholics to get to know St. John Paul II better

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Calling St. John Paul II “one of the men who most shaped the last century,” Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to get to know him better, especially through what he did and wrote before being elected pope Oct. 16, 1978.

“Saint John Paul II, despite the time that has passed since his pontificate, continues to be a source of inspiration and draws people to Christ through his way of life, the depth of his teachings, and his ability to connect with the lives of people,” Pope Francis wrote in the introduction to a book titled, “The Goal is Happiness.”

Published in Italian, the book offers 366 short passages from St. John Paul’s writings, “most of them unpublished outside of Poland, and some even unpublished within Poland,” Pope Francis noted in the introduction, which was translated into English and posted on Vatican News Sept. 26.

The book, compiled by Marina Olmo, with help from people at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, “provides small gems that allow us to savor his human and Christian depth,” the pope wrote. The fragments from the late pope’s homilies, plays and lectures “stimulate our curiosity and interest, awakening in us the desire to know him more.”

“In today’s world, so restless and unpredictable,” Pope Francis said, “we particularly need his example and fatherly care.”

The pope said people “cannot fully understand Saint John Paul II without knowing Karol Wojtyla, the origin of this saintly pope, without discovering his personality, his work, his activity and his teachings as a man, priest, bishop and cardinal. This includes his special relationship with young people, his fatherly care for them, and the drama of his life, during which he lost all his family members one after the other.”

The former archbishop of Krakow, Poland, was elected pope at the age of 58 and served until his death just before his 85th birthday in 2005. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 and declared a saint by Pope Francis in 2014.