John Paul II. [antikvár]

"And so the most reverend cardinals have appointed a new Bishop of Rome. They have summoned him from a far distant country but one which has always been close in the community of faith and the Christian tradition." From the first address of greeting to the crowd by the newly elected Pope, John Paul U (16 October 1978) On 16 October 1978, a few minutes after 6 p.m., a new pope was elected by the College of Cardinals on the second day of the Conclave. The election was announced to the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square by Cardinal Pericle Felici according to the traditional formula: Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus papam (I announce to you a great joy: we have a pope). He announced that the new pope was Cardinal Karol Wojtyta who had taken the name of John Paul II. This is how the pontificate of the new Pope, the first Pope from Poland, began. The world news media broadcast the amazing announcement and within seconds people began to talk about the Cardinal from far-away Cracow and to look on the map for foreign-sounding place-names — Wadowice, Lublin, Czqstochowa — and everywhere people were talking about Poland. Cardinal Karol Wojtyta, Archbishop of Cracow, was already well-known in Poland. He was so well-known in fact that really the Poles knew little about him apart from some general facts, and it was not until his name came to be known all over the world, until reporters began to trace almost his every step from birth, that they saw how interesting and rich his life had been. Wadowice, a postcard from the beginning uf the 2Ulh centurj Karol Wojtyla was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice, a small town of less than 7,000 inhabitants "at the foot of the Beskid Maly Mountains where the swift current of the River Skawa runs into a broad valley" - according to a local historian. Wadowice, although an old town with a history of over 600 years, has never played a special part in the history of Poland. Property passed from hand to hand by inheritance or purchase. Devastated by epidemics and an amazing number of fires, the town could never have become important although some famous people have been numbered among its inhabitants. One of the most distinguished of them was Marcin Vadovius or Wadowita (1567-1641) who was called after the name of the town. After studying at the Jagiellonian Academy this peasant's son passed through all intermediate posts at the university, finally obtaining the distinction of being made Rector of the Cracow Academy. He provided money tor a hospital in Wadowice. Contemporary historians regarded his learning and character very highly and emphasised the fact that he was not only well-known in Poland but abroad also. As early as the 15th century there was a parish school attached to the local church which had been built a century before. In 1772, as a result of the First Partition of Poland among the three powers, Prussia, Russia, and Austria, Wadowice fell under the control of the last-named and the Austrian area was given the German name of Gulizien (Galicia). In spite of the relatively wide sphere of autonomy which the Poles under Austrian rule possessed (e.g. Polish was the language of the schools and Polish delegates sat in the Austrian parliament), Galicia