“The universal call to holiness is closely linked to the universal call to mission.”

— Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio (1990), §90

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.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”