USA #15

Pope John Paul II, served as Pope from 1978 to 2005. He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who was elected in August after the death of Pope Paul VI, died after thirty-three days. Then-Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted his predecessor's name in tribute to him. In the years since his death, John Paul II has since been made a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He is referred to by Roman Catholics as Pope Saint John Paul II or Saint John Paul the Great, for example as a name for institutions.

Thanks Dede!

USA-1773

ITALY #5 Direct Swap

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is Pope of the Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and Sovereign of the Vatican City.Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technician and nightclub bouncer before beginning seminary studies. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969 and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentina's provincial superior of the Society of Jesus. He was accused of handing two priests to the National Reorganization Process during the Dirty War, but the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European pope since the Syrian Gregory III in 741.

Thanks Andrea!

ITALY #4

Pope Saint John XXIII (Latin: Ioannes XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, 25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963) reigned from 28 October 1958 to his death in 1963 and was canonized on 27 April 2014. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was the fourth of fourteen children born to a family of sharecroppers who lived in a village in Lombardy. He was ordained a priest on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, including papal nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after 11 ballots. His selection was unexpected, and Roncalli himself had come to Rome with a return train ticket to Venice

Thanks Paola!

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CZECH REPUBLIC #2

Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; on 16 April 1927) served as pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Benedict was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II and was inaugurated on 24 April 2005.

CZ-634569

Thanks Tereza!

POLAND #4, #5, #6, #7 & #8 Direct Swap

I was immensely happy when I received this gift from my friend Magdalena, she sent me postcards from Wadovice, and its most famous son, Pope John Paul II. I loved the surprise.

St. John Paul II blesses us!

Thanks Magdalena!

Sent on: 18/11/2014
Received on: 05/12/2014
Travel time: 17 days

GERMANY #7

The Pope's body was moved from the Vatican grottoes to the chapel of Saint Sebastian after his beatification on 1 May 2011. The inscription "Beatvs" was changed in April 2014 to "Sanctvs" for his canonization.

Thanks Melanie!

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POLAND #2 - Direct Swap

Pope John Paul II is one of the personalities I most admire, his story the front of the church was a very important period. This post was sent from  the birthplace of the Polish pope, Wadowice. So this postcard is doubly special!

Thanks Dorota!

Sent on: 05/09/2014
Received on: 17/09/2014
Travel time: 12 days

GERMANY #1

The popes theme is one of my favorites, this post celebrates the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the city of Freiburg in September 2011.

Thank you, Heiner!

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