By Lubna Abdel-Aziz The charm of his style still baffles description. A labourer in the service of humanity he strove to make men decent, benevolent and brave. He was the first global leader who felt the pulse of the century throb beneath his fingers. No single figure influenced so many minds, no single voice touched so many hearts. He was Poland's cherished son, the first ever to become supreme Pontiff in the history of the Church. Leader of 1.1 billion Catholics, he reached out to men of all faiths, and became patriarch to the whole human race. He spent one tenth of his term away from the Vatican in his 104 apostolic journeys to 141 countries reaching all who could not come to him. There was no humbler man than this Polish Pontiff, who kneeled and kissed the ground of every land he visited, endearing him to the natives and enhancing his power and influence. He brought his papacy to the people, from church to synagogue to mosque. In turn they kneeled to worship the God that sent him. Few names in history are inseparably and exclusively associated with a great movement that united humankind. Such was the legacy of Pope John Paul II. A giant figure of the 20th century, not only as a spiritual force, but also as a social, cultural and political one. He played a pivotal role in bringing down communism in his native Poland, the Soviet Union and beyond. He will be remembered as one of the great liberators of mankind. The most famous Pole since Copernicus, he was the first non-Italian Pontiff in 455 years, and the youngest in 132 years. When he returned to his native Poland after becoming Pope in 1978 over one million of his countrymen came out to greet their spiritual hero. His cry for freedom pierced their hearts: "You are men. You have dignity. Don't crawl on your bellies." That marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. He was no friend of Communism, but neither was he a friend of Capitalism. He warned against the dangers of materialism, selfishness, and secularism. He even suggested, on a visit to the US, "lowering the standard of living and sharing the wealth with the third world". He regarded Capitalism and Communism -- as do many -- flip sides of the same coin. As one "Anonymous" put it: "Communism is the exploitation of man by man, Capitalism is the complete opposite!" By all accounts the "Catholic Church was in shambles" when Pope John Paul II assumed the Papacy in 1978. Reforms of the Second Vatican Council in 1962 shook the very foundation of the church causing a tremendous crisis amongst its followers. It lost one third of its priests and a great number of nuns. Pope John Paul II embarked upon restoring the church's conservative traditional values, and remained unyielding in his stand against contraception, abortion, euthanasia, and women in the clergy. He criticised Western culture for discarding the "sanctity of life" and fostering "a culture of death". Karol Jozef Wojtyla, (voy-TIH-wah) affectionately called "Lolek", was born in Wadowice, 35 miles northwest of Krakow to a retired army officer Karol, and a Lithuanian school teacher Emelia. He had a lonely childhood having lost mother, sister, and brother before he was 12. Lolek himself escaped death on two occasions -- when he was hit once by a street-car, and again by a truck. He lived with his father in "a Spartan one- room apartment behind the church. His father was devoted to him, cooking his food, sewing his clothes, even playing football with him with a rag ball." A skilled athlete and an excellent student, his early passions included poetry, religion, and the theatre. After graduating from high school, father and son moved to Krakow where Lolek enrolled at Jagiellonian University to study literature and philosophy. He joined an experimental theatre group and participated in poetry readings and literature discussion groups. He was an intense and gifted actor and a first rate singer, but when the Germans invaded Poland in 1940 his performing career came to an end; he became a stone cutter in a quarry. At 20, his father died, and Lolek was left alone in this world. His father's dying wish was for his son to join the church and commit himself to God's service. It was another 18 months before Lolek began studying in an underground seminary in Krakow. When the Nazis rounded up Polish men in 1944, Lolek took refuge in the Archbishop of Krakow's residence until the end of the war. He was ordained in secret, in 1946 and continued to study in hiding earning two masters degrees and a doctorate before taking up priestly duties in Krakow in 1949. By 1958 he was named the Bishop of Krakow, 1962 Archbishop, and in 1967 he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Paul VI. Neither the oppression of the Nazis nor the domination of the Soviets could veer him from his course. When the College of Cardinals chose him as Pope on the eighth round, 16 October, 1978, they were not aware that they had selected one who would become the most popular and influential Pope of the 20th century. "His moves, his presence, his smile, his friendliness, his gestures have pleased everyone." Lover of music and song, lover of circus and clowns, he loved crowds and crowds loved him, especially the children and the youth. His rapport with the young was unparalleled. He electrified them with his passion and playfulness, his insight and wisdom, and his deep understanding of their moral plight. Shaken by the grave confusion and ominous rumbles of a troubled world and its injustices, he comforted them, and gave them clarity, precision and courage, so lacking in their horizon. He taught them to love, for love alone would erase every kind of prejudice, the root of the world's ills. On his visit to his native Krakow, the young would gather beneath his window and chat with him. They called him "uncle" and exchanged questions, ideas, stories and songs. When he begged to retire in order to sleep they would all cheer and implore him to stay longer. This same rapport was present in all of his visits around the world. At Madison Square Garden in New York, the young people chanted: " John Paul II -- We Love You !" and he chanted back " John Paul II -- loves you too! " His last words were reserved for the young who filled St Peter's Square in sombre prayer for his soul. "I have always looked for you, now you have come to me." Then came the official announcement: "The Holy Father has Returned to the House of his Father." It is hard to think of this Pope as dead. He was unmistakenly alive, despite his afflictions. For a quarter of a century of worldwide popularity, he has led his flock through difficult times. When we think of his endless energy, the love and joy he invested in all of us, the pain and sorrow he suffered, can he ever die? For the sake of this Pope, let us all be Catholics for a day, light a candle and say a prayer to one who loved us all equally and unconditionally. Never before had the world mourned as one, with a profound sense of sorrow, which struck a chill in our hearts at the departure of one human being. Yet, we were all so blessed with a sacred calm that made us feel closer to heaven, for he would be there. We will be proud to tell our children and grandchildren that during our lifetime there came a man amongst us once, from the land of Poland, whose equal we shall never see again. His name was Karol Josef Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II. His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles, His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate, His tears pure messengers sent from his heart, His heart as far from fraud, as heaven from earth. Two Gentlemen of Verona William Shakespeare (1564 -- 1616)
