The impact of the papacy of John Paul II on Europe in XX and XXI century

1. Theimpactof thepapacyof John Paul II on Europe in XX and XXI century

2. On the September, 16th 1978, at 5:15 pm, the Archbishop of Cracow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in the seventh vote of conclave. The pontificate which lasted almost 27 years, had began. This pontificate changed Europe and the world.

3. The main features of the John Paul II's pontificate were the pilgrimages. That's why he was called 'pope-pilgrim'

4. Let your Spirit descend! And renew the face of the earth. The face of this land! On the June 1979, Pope arrived to Poland for the first time as the Holy Father. He prayed God together with all of the people gathered in Warsaw to change the world and save Poland. This prayer bore a remarkable fruit. Only one year later, the Trade Union 'Solidarity' was created. The Union of nearly 10 million people from Poland.

6. John Paul II wasan advocate of peace, social justice, tolerance, racial, religious and human rights from the very beginning.

7. John Paul II was involved in establishing good relations with the communist world in Poland.The correspondence with General Jaruzelski – the head of Poland and the Prime Minister, at that time - was the beginning of a very special relationship. The relationship, thanks to the advocacy of Michail Gorbaczow, led to the changes in Europe, which were crucial to Poland and the Eastern Europe.

8. John Paul II with Wojciech Jaruzelski

9. John Paul II with Michaił Gorbaczow

10. The Pope supported the Solidarity and all changes coming to collapse the communist regimes in the countries of the Eastern Europe. It was the beginning of the events which took place in Poland. In 1989 theTrade Unions Soldarity was legalised and There was the first political free elections.

11. John Paul II with Lech Wałęsa

12. PolishRoundTableAgreement - 1989

13. The events in Poland, led to so called 'Autumn of Nations' in Central and Eastern Europe. The changes in other countries such as Czechoslovakia and Hungary had started, and soon after those events the Soviet Union collapsed.

14. theVelvetRevolution - Czechoslovakia

15. Demonstrations - Bulgaria

16. TheFall of the Berlin Wall - Germany

17. John Paul II became the greatest authority in the world. He was the opponent of the communism and he contributed to its collapse.

18. Since the beginning of the pontificate, John Paul II wanted to bring the Christian Church into the New Millennium. The Pope decided to celebrate the millennium yearas the Jubilee Year. He went as a pilgrim to the Holy Land. There the Pope met the Prime Minister of Israel in Jerusalem and prayed at the Wailing Wall.

20. During his pontificate, John Paul II made 104 trips abroad, he visited all the inhabited continents. Many times, he was the first Pope to visit the country or the region. He was the first Pope to visit: the UK, the White House and the Polish Parliament. The most often visited countires: Poland ( 8 times), the USA (7 times), France (7 times). He also made over 100 trips in Italy.

21. John Paul II withQueen Elizabeth II

22. John Paul II with Bill Clinton

23. John Paul II with George W. Bush

27. John Paul II – the Polish pope, a great spiritual and political leader of the world, who brought the world into the third millennium. , In his vision of the New Europe he believed in the sense of the European integration. For John Paul II the human values and the human rights were far more important than the economic interests.