Patronage

Patron Saint of Poland

2 saints are venerated as patrons of Poland, led by John Paul II (feast day October 22).

John Paul II

John Paul II

1920 — 2005 · Feast day: October 22

Karol Wojtyła lost his mother at eight, his brother at twelve, and his father at twenty, leaving him alone in Nazi-occupied Poland — where he labored in a quarry and factory by day and studied for the priesthood in secret by night. Elected in 1978 as the first Polish pope, he made 104 international journeys, backed Poland's Solidarity movement at a decisive moment in Cold War history, and survived an assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square in 1981. His 27-year pontificate produced the 'Theology of the Body,' the institution of World Youth Day, and 14 encyclicals; he was canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014.

Full biography 2-minute lesson
Faustina Kowalska

Faustina Kowalska

1905 — 1938 · Feast day: October 5

A Polish nun with only three years of formal education, Helena Kowalska entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925 and became Sister Maria Faustina. Beginning in 1931 she recorded visions of Christ in her Diary, which gave the Church the Divine Mercy image, the Chaplet, and the feast day. Beatified in 1993 and canonized by John Paul II on April 30, 2000, she was the first saint he named of the new millennium.

Full biography 2-minute lesson

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