Saints of Our Time · Week 3 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. John Paul II
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
St. John Paul II
Formed under occupation
Karol Wojtyła was born in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, blank 1. His mother died when he was eight, his brother three years later, and his father when Karol was 20.
In blank 2 Nazi Germany invaded Poland and closed his university. He worked in a rock quarry and a chemical factory. Many of his Jewish friends were taken away and killed.
The Nazis arrested priests, yet in 1942 he began studying in an underground blank 3. He was ordained on November 1, 1946, after the war ended.
A priest in a communist state
After the war, blank 4 was ruled by communists, and the government did not want people to go to church.
Father Wojtyła took young people hiking and kayaking. They called him “Uncle” so the communist police would not know he was a priest. He wrote poems and plays, and he defended the people’s right to pray and worship freely.
He became a bishop at 38 and a blank 5 at 47. On October 16, 1978, he was elected pope, the first non-Italian in 455 years. In his first speech he said, “Be not afraid!”
Poland, a prison cell and a public illness
When he visited Poland in 1979, millions came to see him, and people found the courage to stand up to the communist government. Ten years later, blank 6 ended in Poland and then across Eastern Europe. He helped bring that freedom without a war.
On May blank 7, 1981, a man shot him in Saint Peter’s Square, and he almost died. He later visited the man in prison and forgave him.
In his last years, blank 8’s disease made it hard for him to walk and speak. He did not hide it. He kept working and showed that every life has dignity. He died on April 2, 2005.
A life across the twentieth century
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1920 | Write your answer |
| 1939 | Write your answer |
| 1942 | Write your answer |
| 1946 | Write your answer |
| 1978 | Write your answer |
| 1981 | Write your answer |
| 1989 | Write your answer |
| 2005 | Write your answer |
How the Church named him a saint
Write one detail for each card.
| Card | The detail |
|---|---|
| Servant of God, 2005 | Write your answer |
| Venerable, 2009 | Write your answer |
| Blessed, 2011 | Write your answer |
| Saint, 2014 | Write your answer |
Apply it
A classmate with a disability is being mocked in a group chat. Which response best reflects John Paul II’s witness in his final illness? Circle one.
- A Leave the chat quietly so that you are not part of it
- B Reply with a sharper joke aimed at the ones mocking
- C Say the classmate deserves respect, and check on them
- D Wait to see whether the classmate seems to be upset
Why is that the right answer?
Apply it
John Paul II said, “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” Which choice best fits that idea of freedom? Circle one.
- A Putting your phone away to keep a promise to a friend
- B Scrolling for as long as you want with no limit set
- C Following whatever your feed suggests to you next
- D Avoiding every rule that someone else has written
Why is that the right answer?
Virtues John Paul II lived
For each virtue, write how the saint lived it and one way you can practice it.
| Virtue | How the saint lived it | How I can practice it |
|---|---|---|
| Fortitude | Write your answer | Write your answer |
| Mercy | Write your answer | Write your answer |
| Reverence for human dignity | Write your answer | Write your answer |
Take a side
Do feeds, games and AI tools built to give us what we like make us more free or less free? Test your answer against John Paul II’s words: “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”
My side: ☐ More free ☐ Less free
- More free: these tools give access to knowledge, community and a voice that earlier generations lacked.
- More free: a tool only offers; the person still chooses what to do with it.
- Less free: something designed to hold attention can make it harder to do what we ought.
- Less free: if freedom means choosing the good, a habit of choosing only what we like weakens it.
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Let us pray
Lord Jesus Christ, you call us not to be afraid.
Free us to choose what is good, and give us mercy for those who wrong us.
Teach us to honor your image in every person.
St. John Paul II, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Put out into the deep
John Paul II told young people, “Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. John Paul II shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: This week, pick one thing you ought to do and have been avoiding. Do it first, before you open any app that day.