The Early Years
Pope John Paul's original name before he became Pope was Karol Joseph Wojtyla. Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice Poland. Emilia, Karol's mother died on April 13, 1929 and with no mother he began a spiritual devotion to the Virgin Mary. Karol and his father, Karol Wojtyla Sr., had become closer and they lived off the small military pension. The winter of 1930, Karol's older brother Edmund died. Karol was educated in a school with less anti-Semitism and was a popular student. …
