“Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ!”

— Pope John Paul II, Homily for the Inauguration of his Pontificate, 22 October 1978

About Pope John Paul II

1920 – 2005

Polish-born pope who led the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005.

“Remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with confidence.”

“A person's rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use.”

“Only the chaste man and the chaste woman are capable of true love.”

“When in doubt, tell the truth.”

“I never "worry" about action, but only about inaction.”

“The superior man has neither anxiety nor fear.”

“Nothing is so much to be feared as fear.”

“You really only know when you know little. Doubt grows with knowledge.”

“Let those flatter who fear; it is not an American art.”