Karol Wojtyła (18 July 1879 – 18 February 1941) was a soldier, a
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
of the
Austro-Hungarian Army and a
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the
Polish Armed Forces' administration and the father and namesake of Karol Józef Wojtyła, who later became
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1978. He died from what is believed to be a heart attack in 1941 while his son was away, and this event is considered to have influenced his son's decision to join the seminary.
Life
Karol Wojtyła was born on 18 July 1879 in Lipnik. He was a son of Maciej Wojtyła (born in 1852 in
Czaniec
Czaniec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Porąbka, within Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Porąbka, east of Bielsko-Biała, and south of the regional capital Ka ...
, died 23 September 1923 in
Wadowice) and his first wife Anna Marianna Przeczek (1853–1881, born and died in Lipnik).
He married
Emilia Kaczorowska
The early life of Pope John Paul II covers the period in his life from his birth in 1920 to his ordination to the priesthood in 1946.
Childhood
Karol Józef Wojtyła (junior) was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice near the city of Kraków in south ...
on 10 February 1906. The wedding took place in Kraków, in
Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul ( pl, Kościół ŚŚ Piotra i Pawła) is a Roman Catholic Polish Baroque church located at 54 Grodzka Street in the Old Town district of Kraków, Poland. It was built between by Giovanni Maria Bernardoni ...
. They had three children: Edmund (1906–1932), Olga Maria (died soon after birth on 7 July 1916),
Karol Józef (1920–2005).
He was a tailor by trade.
In 1900 he was called up for the
Austro-Hungarian Army. He spent a total of 27 years in the army.
He was a non-commissioned officer. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he was transferred to
Hranice in
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
, and he fought in the
Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive in May 1915. In August 1915, he was appointed as an officer of the military registrar. On 1 September 1915 he was a noncommissioned officer of the 56th Infantry Regiment. He worked in the Wadowice County Supplementary Command until 1918.
Before 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross of Merit with a crown.
After Poland regained its independence, he was admitted to the Polish Army and was an officer of the
12th Infantry Regiment from Wadowice. He was promoted to the rank of
Poruchik
The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe ( hr, poručnik, cs, poručík, pl, porucznik, russian: script=latn, poruchik, sr, script=latn, poručnik, sk, poručík) is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either ...
in the corps of professional administrative officers of the office department. In 1924, he served in the Wadowice County Supplementary Command. Before 1928 he was retired. In 1934, as a retired lieutenant, he remained in the records of the Poviat Supplementary Command Wadowice.
In 1929, as a result of myocarditis and kidney failure, his wife died, and three years later, his son, Edmund Wojtyla, died of scarlet fever. In 1938 he moved from Wadowice, together with his adolescent son Karol, to
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. He died there on 18 February 1941.
He was buried in the military cemetery on Prandoty Street in Kraków.
Commemoration/beatification process
The role of Karol Wojtyła Senior was played by
Olgierd Łukaszewicz in the film ''
Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'' and Robert Mazurkiewicz in the
Pope John Paul II (miniseries)
''Pope John Paul II'' is a 2005 television miniseries dramatizing the life of Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła) from his early adult years in Poland to his death at age 84.
The miniseries was written and directed by John Kent Harrison ...
.
Alfred Burke played him in the film
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.
In 2018, one of the streets in
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
was named for him and for his wife.
The Wojtyls are also patrons of a street in
Wadowice.
On 11 March 2020
Marek Jędraszewski,
Archbishop of Kraków, announced the beginning of the process of beatification of Karol and Emilia Wojtyła; The process of beatification of John Paul II's parents began officially on 7 May 2020 in Wadowice.
References
Bibliografia
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Genealogia Polska – przodkowie Karola Wojtyły
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wojtyla, Karol
1941 deaths
1879 births
Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War
Polish people of World War I
Polish Servants of God
People from Wadowice
Papal family members
Pope John Paul II
Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery