The Archdiocese of Kraków may now begin making efforts for a beatification process for the pope’s parents to get under way, Father Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, spokesman for the Episcopal Conference, the central authority of the Catholic Church in Poland, said on Wednesday.
Rytel-Andrianik said: "The Episcopate has agreed for the Archdiocese of Kraków to initiate the process of beatification of the parents of John Paul II -- Karol Wojtyła and Emilia Kaczorowska.”
He added: “This makes it possible to address the Holy See with a request to start the process at the diocesan level.”
In the Catholic Church, beatification is a step toward possible sainthood.
The pope’s father, Karol Wojtyła, was a tailor by profession. He spent 27 years in the Austrian army at a time when Poland was partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Following his army service, he became a civil servant.
Emilia Wojtyła née Kaczorowska came from a craftsman's family.
Karol and Emilia got married in 1906. They had three children. Edmund, the eldest, became a doctor. Their daughter Olga Maria died shortly after her birth in July 1916. The third child was Karol Józef, the future pontiff.
Pope John Paul II led the Roman Catholic Church from October 16, 1978 until his death on April 2, 2005.
He was the third longest-serving pontiff in history and was declared a saint in 2014.
(aba/gs)
Source: IAR